The competition watchdog has searched businesses in the solar panel industry as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected breaches of competition law and potential bid-rigging.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) today confirmed that together with support from An Garda Síochána's district detective units and local Gardaí it had carried out the searches.

However according to the competition watchdog because the investigation is ongoing, the CCPC "cannot provide any further comment at this time" and no other details about the raids have been made public. 

The CCPC has the power to carry out unannounced searches of business premises and private homes with a search warrant issued by the District Court.

During this process the organisation can conduct searches for "information and evidence" where it has reason to suspect that companies or individuals are not compliant with competition law.

The CCPC is the statutory body responsible for the enforcement of competition law in Ireland - this covers investigating suspected cartel conduct such as bid-rigging, price fixing, market sharing and output restriction.

It has warned that "bid-rigging is a serious form of cartel conduct that occurs when businesses agree in advance how they will respond to a tender process, rather than competing independently".

According to the CCPC this can include businesses or firms who agree who will win a contract, submitting cover bids, taking turns winning contracts or agreeing not to bid.

Competition

Úna Butler, commission member at the CCPC said: “Effective competition is essential to supporting a strong, resilient and growing Irish economy.

“While searches do not imply that any breach of competition law has occurred, the CCPC remains committed to fully investigating suspected bid-rigging to protect fair competition and consumers.”