Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke appointed Clara Thornton as a Member of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), with effect from 2 November 2026. She joins Commission Members Úna Butler and Geoffrey Gray, and Chairperson Brian McHugh.

Thornton is a qualified solicitor with more than 16 years of regulatory experience. She trained at Freshfields, where she specialised in consumer protection regulatory investigations and product liability litigation. Before her recent role as Strategy Counsel for Google, she held several senior positions at the CCPC, including Director of the Product Safety Division and roles in its Legal Services Division.

Thornton holds a business and law degree from University College Dublin, a postgraduate Diploma in Competition Law from King’s College London, and an LLM in regulatory law from Nottingham Trent University. McHugh said her experience in competition, consumer and digital matters, together with her legal background, would benefit the Commission.

In her new role, Thornton will oversee the CCPC’s Market Surveillance, Consumer Protection, Consumer Enforcement, and Legal Consumer and Corporate Divisions. She said the Commission’s expanding enforcement powers and evolving remit made it an important time to return and contribute to its work.