asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he has received representations from the National Association of Independent Retailers regarding Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty of Rome; and the action he proposes to allay their fears.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Restrictive Practices Legislation.
178.
I have seen a copy of an open letter addressed to me by the National Association of Independent Retailers referring apparently to the definition of monopoly in the Restrictive Practices (Amendment) Bill, 1972, which was introduced in this House in July, 1972, but which lapsed on the dissolution of the last Dáil.
I do not wish to reveal just yet any details of the Bill to control mergers, take-overs and monopolies which I propose to introduce soon but I may say that I am satisfied that the lower limit of size which I am proposing in relation to the definition of monopolies for the purposes of the Bill will be a realistic one, and will in many cases include concerns which would be below the size limits fixed by the EEC regulations to which the association appears to refer. It would not be realistic to classify as a monopoly a company which produced as little as 5 per cent of the country's output of a product as the association propose.