Bruton names Goggin to chair Competition Authority

ISOLDE GOGGIN has been named as the new chairwoman of the Competition Authority by Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Employment Richard Bruton.

Ms Goggin will also act as chairwoman-designate of the proposed Consumer and Competition Authority, which will come about following the amalgamation of the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency next year. She took up the appointment on Saturday.

She started her career with Telecom Éireann (now Eircom), where she worked as an engineer before moving into business management and regulation.

She served as the chairwoman and commissioner of the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) between 2002 and 2006 and was a member of the Competition Authority between 1996 and 2002, to which she was reappointed for a period in 2006.

She has worked with the Directorate for the Information Society in the European Commission and has been a member of Ofcom’s advisory committee in Northern Ireland.

Mr Bruton said Ms Goggin was returning to the authority “at a challenging time both economically and organisationally”.

He added that improving competitiveness would be “crucial in leading our recovery”.

Mr Bruton described the role as “particularly important given the radical changes which this Government is implementing, by merging the Competition Authority with the National Consumer Agency to create a strong consumer champion with real teeth, and by increasing the sanctions available to the authority in battling anti-competitive practices”.

In July, the Government approved draft legislation to merge the agency and the authority. The merger forms part of the Government’s plan to rationalise the number of State bodies.