Ask 7: Let the CCPC impose fines for breaking consumer protection law

Introduction

When businesses break competition rules, they can be fined by the CCPC. But in Ireland, they don’t face the same fines for breaking consumer protection laws as they do in other EU countries. Changes to the law are needed to give the CCPC the power to impose large fines for serious offences. For example, to allow the CCPC to issue fines that are a percentage of a business’s turnover. This will reduce pressure on the courts and save public money while improving compliance with consumer protection law.

Why it matters

• Currently, for serious consumer protection cases the CCPC must prosecute the business in court where the Judge can then impose a fine. The maximum level of fine that can be imposed by a Judge depends on the level of the court and the type of offence, but is usually in the range of €500 to €5,000. This size of fine does not deter large businesses from breaking the law.
  
  
• Allowing the CCPC to directly impose large fines would have several benefits:
  • It would send a clear signal to businesses that they must treat consumers fairly or face serious consequences. It’s a stronger deterrent.
  • Fines imposed by agencies like the CCPC are usually quicker to impose than criminal penalties, so they are more likely to make businesses follow the rules.
  • It’s more focused. A regulator for a specific sector might be better than a court at deciding if a business has broken the rules because they know that industry well. Fines can then be set at the right level for each case.
  • It’s more efficient as it avoids time-consuming court processes.
  • It saves money. Using fines means that criminal prosecutions can focus on the worst cases of breaking the rules or businesses that break them often. This reduces pressure on the courts and saves public money.
    
    
• The European Commission has said that faster and more reliable systems for enforcing consumer protection laws would build more trust in markets. Letting the CCPC issue fines would match this priority.
  
  
• It would let the CCPC do what some other Irish authorities, like the Data Protection Commission, already do.
  
  
•  The CCPC has recently taken on new roles under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), with the power to issue large fines to online platforms. However, this fining power can only be used for certain breaches of the DSA and not for breaches of other consumer protection laws. This means that the CCPC has to treat different types of businesses differently for offences that can be just as serious.

How we can do it

•  The CCPC welcomes the commitment made by the Government in its Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity in September 2025 to give the CCPC new powers to impose fines for breaches of consumer protection laws. We will work with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment onnew legislation to give us these powers.
  
  
• Changing the laws in this way will give the CCPC a more effective way to enforce rules. It will be able to issue large fines when a business breaks consumer protection laws with serious consequences for consumers