Competition (Amendment) Act 2012

Amendment of section 8 of Principal Act.

2.— Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraph (a) of subsection (1), by the substitution of “class A fine” for “fine not exceeding €3,000”,

(b) in paragraph (b) of subsection (1), by—

(i) the substitution of “€5,000,000” for “€4,000,000” in each place that it occurs, and

(ii) the substitution of “10 years” for “5 years”,

(c) in paragraph (a) of subsection (2), by the substitution of “class A fine” for “fine not exceeding €3,000”,

(d) in paragraph (b) of subsection (2), by the substitution of “€5,000,000” for “€4,000,000”,

(e) in paragraph (a) of subsection (3), by—

(i) the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (i):

“(i) in paragraph (a), ‘class E fine’ were substituted for ‘class A fine’ and references to imprisonment were disregarded, and”,

and

(ii) the substitution of “€50,000” for “€40,000” in sub-paragraph (ii)(I),

(f) in paragraph (b) of subsection (3), by—

(i) the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (i):

“(i) in paragraph (a), ‘class E fine’ were substituted for ‘class A fine’, and”,

and

(ii) the substitution of “€50,000” for “€40,000” in sub-paragraph (ii),

(g) in subsection (10), by the substitution of “section 14 or section 14A” for “section 14”, and

(h) by the insertion of the following subsections:

“(11A) Section 1 (1) of the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 shall not apply in relation to an offence under section 6 or 7.

(11B) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act the court shall order the person to pay to the relevant competent authority a sum equal to the costs and expenses, measured by the court, incurred by that competent authority in relation to the investigation, detection and prosecution of the offence, unless the court is satisfied that there are special and substantial reasons for not so doing.

(11C) Any sum paid to the competent authority pursuant to an order under subsection (11B) shall be disposed of by that competent authority in such manner as the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform directs.”.