Isolde Goggin has been appointed as the new chairwoman of the Competition Authority by the Minister for Enterprise 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.
Ms Goggin served as the chair and commissioner of the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) between 2002 and 2006 and was also a member of the Competition Authority between 1996 and 2002.
Mr Bruton said she was returning to the authority “at a challenging time both economically and organisationally” and he claimed that improving competitiveness would be “crucial in leading our recovery”.
He said the Competition Authority had “a crucial role in ensuring that this happens, by promoting the interests of the consumer and small business against powerful organisations who abuse their positions”.
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 gave its approval to draft legislation to merge the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority and the new legislation is currently being worked on as part of the Government’s legislative programme which was agreed last month. The merger forms part of the Government’s plan to rationalise the number of State bodies.