Cabinet weighs AI scams crackdown and NDP bid-rigging fight

The CCPC has an economy-wide remit covering competition, consumer protection, product safety and digital and data law. Cabinet on Tuesday was discussing a three-year strategy submitted by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), which oversees mergers and acquisitions, consumer protection and commercial competition.

The next strategy would put online deception at the centre of consumer work, including scams generated or amplified by artificial intelligence, automated chatbots that mislead shoppers, and reviews that falsely promote or disparage products and businesses. It is part of the commission's strategy for 2027 to 2029, which Burke was to bring to Cabinet.

The watchdog pointed to past redress work as context for the new plan. The competition watchdog delivered €21 back to consumers for every €1 spent during the previous strategy period, according to reporting of the Cabinet material.

That reporting also cited product safety and travel refunds as examples of past work. It pulled half a million unsafe products from shelves, and it refunded €350,000 to Irish airline passengers. Those figures describe work under the previous strategy period, not projected savings.

The CCPC sets its priorities on a three-year cycle. Every three years, the CCPC develops a strategy statement setting out our strategic priorities, objectives and the high-level ambitions of the organisation. Its current Strategy 2024-2026 was due to expire this year, and it had invited submissions on the 2027-2029 strategy by 24 June 2026.

The second pillar of the strategy is competition for publicly funded building, goods and services. It lists tackling the risk of bid rigging, where contenders secretly agree on which one of them should win a contract, as one of the commission's "key areas of focus" as the Government prepares major infrastructure spending.

Bid-rigging happens when suppliers secretly coordinate rather than compete, for example by agreeing who will win a tender or by coordinating bids. The CCPC says this results in higher prices or lower quality goods and services, leaving taxpayers and public bodies paying more for schools, hospitals, housing, roads and other goods and services.

The sums involved explain the emphasis on prevention. In Ireland, the State spends over €18 billion every year on buying goods and services, and carrying out construction projects, and Ireland plans to spend €275.4 billion between 2026 and 2035 under the National Development Plan.

CCPC chairman Brian McHugh said the scale of potential harm was large. CCPC chairman Brian McHugh says international experience shows that, with public procurement on this scale, the potential cost to taxpayers of bid rigging could run to hundreds of millions of euro if not billions. He added: "That is the scale of harm that's out there."

McHugh also pointed to international estimates on pricing effects. Cartels, where businesses agree not to compete with each other in a given market, could be responsible for up 20 or 30 per cent of price increases on projects, McHugh notes. That was presented as his assessment based on international experience, not as a finding about any specific Irish contract.

The CCPC says finding bid-rigging without systematic access to tender data is difficult. Today, finding cases depends largely on people reporting concerns or cartel members seeking protection through leniency programmes, which makes proactive detection much harder.

It is therefore seeking legislation to let it collect and screen procurement data across the public sector. The Government has consulted in 2026 on legislation that will provide the CCPC with the new powers it needs to screen public procurement data for signs of potential bid rigging.

The proposal follows earlier reforms. The Hamilton Report, published in 2020, recommended making bid-rigging an offence in Irish law, a change made under the Competition (Amendment) Act 2022, alongside new laws to allow collection and analysis of procurement data and more guidance for buyers.

The CCPC cites a recent conviction as evidence that cartels operate in Ireland. In 2025, a group of five individuals were convicted by a jury in the Central Criminal Court for participating in a bid-rigging cartel, following an investigation by the CCPC. The offences related to a tender competition for publicly funded school transport services in the Southwest region.

Discussing the proposed strategy, McHugh said the CCPC wanted to take on more cartel cases but needed resources. "We really want to take on as many cases as possible but the reality is that will take resources. The more resources we have, the more cases we will take [on]." The commission says it already has a "healthy pipeline of cases", but notes investigations take time and large companies can challenge investigations and sanctions.

The commission received 56 more staff over the life of its previous strategy as its remit became more complex. On household pressures, McHugh said the CCPC was monitoring energy and food prices but was comfortable rising grocery prices here were "not the result of a dysfunctional market", pointing to discounters and low food inflation by European standards. He added: "We will continue to keep an eye on them," and "We never give any market a clean bill of health."

The education item concerned pupils who will sit State examinations next year and need adjustments to access the exams fairly. The scheme, known as RACE, is intended to remove barriers while maintaining the same academic standards for all candidates.

This initiative removes barriers for students with disabilities, learning difficulties, medical conditions and other additional needs, while maintaining the same academic standards. Eligibility and the type of accommodation remain tied to assessed need through the examinations process.

Supports expanded last year remain in place. Since last year, eligible students can get more time to complete an exam along with supervised rest breaks, spelling and grammar waivers and help to write down their answers.

The update brought to Cabinet adds help for a further group of candidates. New measures will see students with attention or behavioural difficulties get assistance to manage their time during examinations.

Pupils with visual impairments are covered by a pilot. Modified large-print examination papers will be piloted for certain Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate subjects for students with visual impairments.

There will also be more flexibility for candidates who suffer a bereavement during the exam period. And there will be more flexibility for those experiencing the bereavement of an immediate family member during the examination period.

Céim a bhfuil súil léi: D’fhéadfadh an méid seo athrú.

One change sought by the CCPC would require new law on consumer enforcement. McHugh hopes the Oireachtas will pass legislation next year giving the CCPC the power to fine businesses for breaking consumer protection rules, as it already can do for competition law breaches.

Currently, these cases go to the District Court, which generally orders them to make a €1,000 contribution. Under the proposed administrative regime, the CCPC will decide on its own fines, taking account of the offence, the market size, how many consumers were affected, the harm caused and whether the company had previously broken the law.

The procurement screening power would also need legislation. The CCPC says it welcomes the Government commitment in its Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, published in September 2025, to provide those powers, and it is working with European counterparts on a possible shared screening tool to lower costs.

The CCPC is also examining pharmacies, with a report due next year on how pharmacies compete and how consumers choose and compare offers after visiting a doctor. McHugh said: "Obviously it's an important market, every family uses pharmacies." He added: "That's something we want to understand."