Regulators seek stronger enforcement powers and greater fines

Their letter also criticised the maximum fines for serious regulatory breaches, which they said were too weak to act as a deterrent.

It was signed by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities; the Health Products Regulatory Authority; the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission; the Broadcast Authority of Ireland; and the Commission for Communications Regulation.

The letter states: “Regulatory breaches harm consumers, citizens, firms and industry. Strong regulation is thus critical to the economy and society in general. For penalties to be dissuasive and a realistic deterrent to the potential gains for non-compliance, they need to be proportionate to the harm incurred for example to the market and/or proportionate to the turnover of the infringing entity.”