Ireland became the first country in Europe to have a jury trial for a competition offence last year, according to the Competition Authority's annual report which was published today.
Two medium-sized home heating oil companies were fined a total of €22,500 at Galway Circuit Criminal Court last May for being involved in a cartel which fixed - and increased - the price of home heating oil in Galway city and county by as much as 10 per cent in 2001.
A number of smaller home heating oil companies were also fined and some of their directors have already been convicted by the courts for their part in the cartel and have each been fined €7,500.
The prosecution of the accused followed an investigation by the Competition Authority which referred a file on the matter to the DPP in 2003.
As well as its enforcement activity, the report said the Authority continues to advocate reform on behalf of consumers by calling for the removal of anti-competitive laws and regulations.
The abolition of the Groceries Order, which facilitated behaviour that would be prosecuted had it occurred in other sectors, was a victory for the consumer, the report noted.
Since its abolition last April, food items previously covered by the Groceries Order have fallen in price while overall inflation has continued to rise.
Activity in mergers and acquisitions remained at a consistently high level during 2006, the report said.
The number of mergers notified to the Competition Authority grew to 98 in 2006 compared with 84 in 2005 and 81 in 2004.
The Competition Authority initiated four full (Phase 2) investigations of proposed mergers of which one was blocked (Kingspan/Xtratherm), two were cleared and one (Applied Materials/Brooks Software) was carried over into 2007.
The Authority also published three reports on competition in the professions in Ireland during 2006. They covered the architecture, legal and optometry professions.
The Competition Authority's 2006 Annual Report is available from the Authority's website at www.tca.ie