Annual Report of the Competition Authority 1998.

Mary Harney, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment today (Friday, 23rd July, 1999) welcomed the publication of the Annual Report of the Competition Authority for 1998.

The role of the Competition Authority is to promote greater competition in every sector of the Irish economy by tackling anti-competitive behaviour, thereby contributing to improved business practices and a more pro-consumer environment.

The Competition Authority was established following the enactment of the Competition Act, 1991. The approach to competition law introduced in 1991 was strengthened by statute in 1996 with the production of new enforcement powers for the Competition Authority and the creation of a post of Director of Competition Enforcement.

The principal features of the Authority’s Annual Report for 1998 are as follows: (i) there was an increased level of enforcement activity by the Authority in 1998, which is the second year of enforcement functions arising from the Competition (Amendment) Act 1996. (ii) the Authority received 11 notifications of commercial agreements requesting certification or licence under the Competition Act, 1991. (iii) the Authority took 43 decisions in 1998 and disposed of a total of 129 notifications during the year. This is in keeping with the Authority’s work plan which set out targets for disposal of 100 notifications of certificates or licences per year from 1998 onwards. (iv) the Authority published a new Category Certificate/ Licence in respect of agreements between suppliers and resellers in 1998. It applies to vertical agreements between undertakings which operate at different stages in the supply chain in respect of the same product or service whereby one party supplies the product or service to another for resale.

As part of its role of promoting competition, the Competition Authority also seeks to increase the level of awareness among business and consumers about competition. Such measures are designed to encourage greater compliance by business with the provisions of the legislation and to foster an awareness among the public at large regarding the types of business practices which are not acceptable. To this end the Authority published three discussion papers during 1998 on the following topics: Solving Dublin Taxi Problems; Vertical Restraints; Competition in the Natural Gas Industry. The Authority also published its interim report into the retail drinks market. At the request of the Tánaiste, it reported on its study of the Eircell proposal to locate antennas at Garda sites/masts. Members and staff of the Authority during the year addressed a number of conferences on a variety of Competition topics.