Bruton names Competition Authority

THE Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, has appointed a new Competition Authority. As expected, Mr Patrick Massey, an outgoing member of the authority, has been appointed to the new post of director of enforcement for competition.

The new chairman of the authority will be Prof Patrick McNutt, who is currently Professor of Political Economy at the University of Ulster in Belfast. The two others appointed were Dr Bill Prasifka, a senior lawyer with William Fry, and Ms Isolde Goggin, a senior manager with Ericsson Systems Expertise in Dublin. The appointments are all full time and the three new appointees will resign their current positions.

The appointments follow a selection procedure chaired by Prof Dermot McAleese of Trinity College, Dublin. The posts were advertised in the national newspapers during the summer.

Professor McNutt (39) previously worked in the ESRI, Oxford University and University College, Galway. He is also a director for the Centre of Research in Economics and Law in the University of Ulster and takes over from previous authority chairman Mr Lyons. The chairman's post attracts a salary of £60,938.

Dr Prasilka (38), who specialised in competition law at William Fry, also lectures at University College, Dublin. US born, he previously worked with Townley and Updike in New York, specialising in anti trust law.

Dr Prasifka said last night that he was delighted with his appointment. It was a rare opportunity to make a substantial contribution to what was an evolving body of law, he said. He added that he was very impressed with the way the Minister had set about making the appointments.

Ms Goggins (37), could not be contacted last night. She previously worked with the Commission of the European Communities and Telecom Eireann. The salary level of the two ordinary members of the authority is £48,906.

Mr Bruton said in a statement yesterday that he saw the appointments to the authority as crucial to its success.

Earlier, addressing a conference on competition, he said the Competition (Amendment) Act, 1996 did not set out to "get" directors. "Rather it set out to ensure that undertakings act responsibly with regard to their behaviour in the marketplace concerning competition."

Mr Bruton said "the obvious thing" for firms to do was to have a competition compliance policy endorsed by the board of directors and communicated and enforced within the firm.