The Competition Authority has published a strategy statement setting out its goals for the three-year period to the end of 2004.
It says its main aims are to enforce and encourage compliance with competition law, raise public awareness and understanding of the benefits of competition, and implement Irish competition policy to the highest international standards.
Chairman Dr John Fingleton said that because competition policy was complex, it was important that the body set out its goals in a transparent and accountable manner.
The authority is currently filling 20 new posts recommended by a report last year.
