A jury at the Central Criminal Court has unanimously convicted five men of colluding a decade ago to drive tender prices higher in the provision of schoolbus services across the southwest of the country.
The panel of three women and seven men agreed with the prosecution case that the men had attempted to “load the dice” to distort competition in the market, affecting taxpayers.
The single charge against each accused alleged that between November 1st, 2014, and December 31st, 2016, they engaged in a concerted practice which had as its object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition in trade in the provision of school transport services. They each had pleaded not guilty.
The five defendants, who are all from Tipperary, were Raymond Heney (54) of Camas, Cashel; Andrew Walsh (62) of Derrymore, Roscrea; Noël Browne (77) of Bansha; Larry Hickey (73) of Ardmayle, Cashel and Anthony Flynn (51) of Golden Road, Cashel.
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Each of the defendants had operated buses or taxi services bringing children to and from school.
The trial heard that all of the accused were involved in the process of bidding for tenders to provide schoolbus routes through Bus Éireann, which derived 54 per cent of its turnover from school transport.
The jury was told that 10 per cent of school routes were provided directly by Bus Éireann, with 90 per cent serviced by contractors.
The court heard the Department of Education pays Bus Éireann to run the service, with €149 million paid by the Department and €14 million through fee collection from families, making a total of €163 million in 2015.
Mr Justice David Keane remanded all five on continuing bail in advance of a sentencing hearing on March 23rd, 2026.
The jury heard that Mr Heney would arrange to hold meetings in order to provide services and assistance in dealing with administrative processes in bidding for tenders. He would invite other bus operators, and the prosecution alleged they would then discuss the allocation and pricing of the schoolbus routes.
It was the prosecution’s case that the people involved would only bid on tenders in a certain way, rather than doing so independently, with a “degree of co-ordination” between the parties.
The State argued that this concerted practice was not a formal agreement but collusion between the men that involved an exchange of information and a form of co-ordination that led to “the disappearance of competition”.
Counsel for Mr Heney, Dermot B Cahill SC, said that of the total budget of €163 million for schoolbus transport, €116 million was paid to contractors in 2015.
Ceara McBride, procurement and materials manager with Bus Éireann, agreed with Mr Cahill that as contractors were providing 90 per cent of the services but costing 71 per cent of the budget, this represented “great value for money”.
Mr Cahill told the jury in his closing speech that his client was “supporting his fellow busmen” in the tendering process.
Tim O’Leary SC, acting for Andrew Walsh, told the jury the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) was a bureaucracy that had to “justify itself” by carrying out the investigation.
Desmond Dockery SC, for Flynn, said that his client was “unsuited to the task” of filling out the paperwork required. He said that he relied on Heney to advise him.
Outlining a summary of the evidence of the case, Mr Justice Keane said the prosecution alleged there was a concerted practice involving all accused men, co-ordinated by Heney.
He reminded the jury that prosecution counsel Dominic McGinn SC had argued the prosecution only needed to prove the defendants aimed to prevent, restrict or distort competition. He said they didn’t need to prove that the men had succeeded.
The CCPC, along with the Director of Public Prosecutions, prosecuted the men.
In a statement released on Thursday, the CCPC welcomed the verdicts, saying they follow a “thorough investigation” and represent a “significant milestone in the enforcement of competition law in Ireland”.
