The annual report of the Competition Authority, published this morning, shows the number of complaints made over the course of 2001 was 222.
Of those, 76 related to allegations of cartel behavior, while the remaining 146 covered diverse issues such as refusal to supply and market exclusion by alleged dominant firms.
According to the Authority’s Chairman, Dr John Fingleton, the Authority’s policy of settling rather than litigating cases had made considerable inroads in the backlog of cases from previous years.
"The reduction in this backlog puts us in a strong position to adopt a more aggressive litigation strategy for serious cases," Dr Fingleton said.
The Authority’s report reproduces the Cartel Immunity Programme that it introduced in conjunction with the Director of Public Prosecutions at the end of the year.
Commenting on the immunity programme, Dr. Fingleton said that its purpose is to encourage self-reporting of cartels by offenders in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
"We regard the programme as an important additional tool in our pursuit of cartels," he said.
"Cartels are by their nature conspiratorial where the participants are secretive. As a result they are difficult to detect and prosecute.
"Our new programme will result in additional information becoming available to us as to the activities of various hard-core cartel offences that will assist us in prosecutions".
In addition to investigative and enforcement work on complaints, the report also shows that the Authority embarked on a vigorous programme of examining sectors in which competition is restricted by laws, regulations or administrative practices.
During 2001 this focused on sectors such as pharmacy, transport, liquor licensing, and electricity where barriers to new entrants limit or distort the development of markets.
The Authority also commenced a thorough examination of competition in the professions.
Dr Fingleton said that the advocacy of competition in regulated markets, and the establishment of a new division dedicated to this function, was the area where the Authority had made the greatest progress in 2001.
Looking forward, the Authority said it would be building on strong foundations set down during 2001.
"Already this year, the new Competition Act and the strengthening of expertise and staff numbers within the Authority means that our activities have increased significantly during this year," Dr Fingelton added.
"The Authority is now in a position to adopt a tough enforcement stance, to expand its studies into further sectors of the economy, and to take on the new merger control function in 2003."