CCPC publishes 2022 Annual Report
August 18, 2023
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has launched its 2022 Annual Report, detailing the CCPC’s ongoing market surveillance and enforcement activities alongside its programme of consumer and business information campaigns.
The CCPC’s work in 2022 included:
- 605 unannounced online and in person inspections
- 705,000 unsafe products removed from the Irish market
- One proposed merger was blocked and a further 69 merger determinations made
- Nine market reviews and research reports published
- Over 32,400 consumers were assisted by the CCPC helpline
- 794,974 visitors consulted the CCPC’s online Money Tools
Brian McHugh, Member of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, commented:
“The CCPC promotes the interests and welfare of consumers directly by upholding consumer rights and indirectly by ensuring that consumer markets and input markets are open and competitive, creating incentives to keep prices down and improve product and service quality. Our 2022 Annual Report highlights the important role the organisation plays across all sectors of the economy.
Given the challenging circumstances facing consumers and businesses last year it was more important than ever that the CCPC was robust, focused and efficient in our work and we prioritised areas where we could make the greatest difference. For example, along with reviewing a number of mergers within financial services, for the first time since the CCPC was established in 2014, we made the decision to block a merger. The proposed deal may have resulted in a lack of competition in the pharmacy sector and higher prices for consumers. We also worked to proactively and quickly address competition and consumer protection concerns and we worked to increase awareness of our consumer information services, particularly our money tools and financial.
Our activities also serve wider societal interests, for instance by promoting economic growth, saving taxpayers money on public procurement and supporting policy goals such as the green transition and digital transition. As we look ahead it is clear that the CCPC’s work is more important than ever and our vision for open and competitive markets where consumers are protected and businesses actively compete, must remain at the heart of our work.”
For more information read the Annual Report 2022.
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