Changes at Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Agency

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is Ireland's primary competition and consumer protection agency.

The membership of the CCPC's leadership team has changed in part in recent weeks. The CCPC has two new members.

On 1 January 2022, Jeremy Godfrey became a member of the CCPC and the CCPC's new Chairperson. The public servant and telecoms expert with tremendous national and international experience is only the CCPC's second Chairperson. Jeremy Godfrey had been a member of Ireland's Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) which is Ireland's communications regulator. Mr Godfrey was the Government Chief Information Officer in Hong Kong, a partner in PA Consulting Group as well as a senior executive in Hong Kong Telecom and the Cable & Wireless Group. Mr Godfrey has also worked for the UK Department of Trade and Industry and as an independent consultant. He holds an MA from Cambridge University, where he studied mathematics.

On 18 January 2022, Ireland's Tánaiste (Deputy Irish Prime Minister)/Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, announced Úna Butler as a Member of the CCPC.  Úna Butler served as the CCPC's Director of Legal Services & General Counsel since 2014 and therefore has unrivalled experience. Úna Butler is the first lawyer for several years to serve as a member of the CCPC or its predecessor (the Competition Authority). Like the new CCPC Chairperson, Úna Butler also worked in ComReg, as a legal advisor.  The CCPC is due to secure a range of new legal powers in the context of the proposed new Irish legislation and the implementation into Irish law of the ECN+ Directive so the arrival of a lawyer as a member is very timely.  It looks likely that this new bill, the Competition (Amendment) Bill 2022, would be published before the end of January 2022 so the appointment is very timely.

The new appointments mean that Conor Blackwell, Chair of the CCPC's Audit and Risk Committee, will step down as a temporary Member of the CCPC.  
 
The new line-up of members at the CCPC is therefore:

  • Jeremy Godfrey (as Chair)
  • Úna Butler

as well as the two current members 

  • Patrick Kenny (the hugely experienced and expert economist)
  • Brian McHugh (who has successfully led the CCPC's critically important mergers division for a number of years)

For more information on this topic please contact Dr Vincent Power or any member of A&L Goodbody's EU, Competition & Procurement team.

Date published: 21 January 2022