Ireland—Competition law and commercial agreements

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
Produced in partnership with Kate McKenna of Matheson and Laura McDonnell of Matheson
Practice notes

Ireland—Competition law and commercial agreements

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis

Produced in partnership with Kate McKenna of Matheson and Laura McDonnell of Matheson

Practice notes
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This Practice Note provides an overview of competition law and commercial agreements in Ireland. It begins with an overview of the Irish legislative framework, the enforcement powers of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and key substantive rules. Subsequently, it explores both vertical and horizontal agreements, identifying the block exemptions which apply to each and discussing the permissibility of various commercial practices and trading techniques which typically occur under such arrangements.

Overview of legislative framework in Ireland

In Ireland, the primary piece of competition legislation relevant to commercial agreements is the Competition Act 2002 (Ireland) (CA 2002 (IRL)). CA 2002 (IRL) has been amended and supplemented by various pieces of legislation, including most recently by the Competition (Amendment) Act 2022 (Ireland) (C(A)A 2022 (IRL)).

The relevant Irish laws are very similar to the equivalent competition laws of the EU. The most relevant prohibitions are in relation to:

  1. •

    anti-competitive agreements and concerted practices: under CA 2002 (IRL), s 4 and Article 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European

Kate McKenna
Kate McKenna

Partner, Matheson

Kate is a partner in the Competition and Regulation Group at Matheson. Prior to joining Matheson, Kate worked at a Magic Circle law firm in London.

Kate’s EU competition practice spans the areas of merger control, behavioural competition issues (including abuse of dominance, cartels and other restrictive arrangements), State aid, sectoral regulation and public procurement. As part of Kate’s regulatory practice, she advises clients on compliance with telecommunications, broadcasting and postal regulation as well as representing life sciences companies on regulatory and pricing matters arising during the life cycle of medicinal products.

Kate’s clients are leaders across a broad range of industries and Kate has particular expertise in the communications, Life Sciences and financial services sectors. Kate has advised on numerous notable regulatory processes and court cases. With her extensive experience of regulators and courts at Irish and EU level, clients turn to Kate for expert advice on defending their interests and for practical solutions which achieve their commercial objectives.

Kate contributes articles to leading international legal publications and speaks regularly on EU law issues including as a lecturer on Law Society courses.

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Laura McDonnell
Laura McDonnell

Solicitor, Matheson

Laura is a solicitor in the EU, Competition and Regulatory Group at Matheson. Laura specialises in EU and Irish competition law, as well as merger control, public procurement, state aid and regulatory law. 

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Jurisdiction(s):
Ireland
Related legal acts:

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