The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has unveiled its strategy statement for 2027–2029, charting an aggressive roadmap to protect households from cost-of-living pressures, expand regulatory enforcement, and adapt market oversight for digital technologies and artificial intelligence. Scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027, the plan focuses resources where market distortion and consumer harm are most severe.
The strategy builds upon a record period of activity for the Irish watchdog, which included completing over 200 merger reviews, securing 14 successful legal prosecutions, obtaining consumer redress, and stopping more than 500,000 non-compliant or unsafe products from reaching consumers. Moving forward, the Commission plans to leverage a growing case pipeline and anticipated legislative powers to issue administrative consumer protection fines, driving stricter deterrence across high-impact sectors.
According to CCPC Chair Brian McHugh, the agency will act decisively whenever competition breaks down or businesses mislead consumers on the high street or online. The commission’s overarching goal remains creating open, competitive, and transparent markets that serve consumers, compliant businesses, and the broader economy.
The three-year blueprint establishes five primary strategic objectives:
First, the CCPC will directly address household affordability concerns by launching targeted investigations into essential consumer markets, such as retail pharmacy.
Second, the regulator aims to transform business compliance with consumer protection and product safety laws. Enhanced enforcement efforts will feature targeted interventions in sectors prone to consumer detriment, including white goods.
Third, the Commission will maximize its competition enforcement and merger control capabilities. This involves aggressively pursuing anti-competitive conduct and cartels that directly affect public spending, particularly within public procurement channels.
Fourth, the agency will modernize digital market supervision to protect consumers online. Key priorities include cracking down on fake product reviews, preventing the sale of unsafe items on digital platforms, and curbing misleading applications of artificial intelligence.
Finally, the CCPC plans to improve its internal operational efficiency and capacity. The regulator intends to deploy advanced data analytics, process automation, and artificial intelligence internally to maximize its overall enforcement impact.