Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 April 2004
179 Mr. Hogan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the failure of the Competition Authority to bring a prosecution relating to an alleged cartel of wholesale suppliers of packaged beer and soft drinks was attributable to delay within the Competition Authority in which files on the matter lay dormant for well over a year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10675/04]
View answerDecisions to prosecute offences on indictment under competition law are a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Competition Authority has advised me that it is its policy not to comment on active investigations or cases in the interest of preserving the integrity of its investigations or any subsequent legal proceedings.
I understand, however, that while criminal proceedings on indictment were not proceeded with in the case in question, civil proceedings by the authority are still pending and, therefore, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage.
180 Mr. Hogan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the Competition Authority should provide the public with details of compromises or arrangements reached by the authority with a vested interest relating to potential proceedings or a prosecution; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10676/04]
View answerThe conduct of investigations and any subsequent legal proceedings under competition law is an operational matter for the Competition Authority.
I am aware, however, that where the Competition Authority reaches agreements or settlements with parties it generally publishes details of those agreements either by way of an enforcement decision, a press release or in its annual report. With regard to the former, the authority launched its enforcement decision series in 2003 to inform the public about competition issues by publishing details of decisions concerning selected investigations where it had closed a file either because it had found no breach of competition law or had settled the case. In this regard the authority selects investigations that create a precedent, are of public interest or raise issues of complexity.
I understand that in cases where the authority initiates civil proceedings but subsequently settles them, it is the authority's practice to have the terms of those settlements recorded in court. In that regard I refer to the Competition Authority's recently published annual report for 2003 in which it gives details of various civil cases that were settled in 2003.
