Co-operation between Commission and other regulatory authorities on competition matters
87.—(1)  The Commission may enter into any agreement with any regulatory authority for the purposes of —
(a)facilitating co-operation between the Commission and the regulatory authority in the performance of their respective functions in so far as they relate to issues of competition between undertakings;
(b)avoiding duplication of activities by the Commission and the regulatory authority, being activities involving the determination of the effects on competition of any act done, or proposed to be done; and
(c)ensuring, as far as practicable, consistency between decisions made or other steps taken by the Commission and the regulatory authority in so far as any part of those decisions or steps consists of or relates to a determination of any issue of competition between undertakings.
(2)  An agreement that is entered into under subsection (1) is referred to in this section as a co-operation agreement.
(3)  A co-operation agreement may include —
(a)a provision enabling each party to furnish to another party information in its possession if the information is required by that other party for the purpose of the performance by it of any of its functions;
(b)a provision enabling each party to forbear to perform any of its functions in relation to a matter in circumstances where it is satisfied that another party is performing functions in relation to that matter; and
(c)a provision requiring each party to consult with any other party before performing any function in circumstances where the respective exercise by each party of the function concerned involves the determination of issues of competition between undertakings that are identical to one another or fall within the same category of such an issue, being a category specified in the agreement.
(4)  In this section —
“issue of competition between undertakings” includes an issue of competition between undertakings that arises generally in the sector of activity in relation to which the Commission or the regulatory authority may exercise powers and such an issue that falls, or could fall, to be the subject of the exercise by the Commission or the regulatory authority of powers in particular circumstances;
“party” means a party to a co-operation agreement and a reference to another party (whether that expression or the expression “other party” is used) shall, where there are 2 or more other parties to the agreement, be construed as a reference to one or more of those other parties or each of them, as appropriate.
[Ireland Competition 2002, s. 34 (1), (3) and (12)]