Dawn Raids In Ireland: Part 1 – Powers Of The CCPC

Imagine receiving a call from your office receptionist one morning and being informed that competition regulators are at your office, seeking access to documents and systems. Your team is uncertain about the necessary actions to take and whom to reach out to for help. These unannounced inspections, known as "Dawn Raids", can disrupt operations, expose businesses and individuals to serious legal consequences, and reshape entire industries. Dawn Raids are a powerful tool used by competition regulators to investigate suspected breaches of competition law, including cartels, abuse of dominance and anti-competitive agreements or violations of digital regulations and foreign subsidy regulations. In Ireland, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is responsible for enforcing competition law at the national level, while the European Commission (EC) conducts Dawn Raids across EU Member States when suspected violations affect multiple jurisdictions (1).