The High Court will decide today on a claim by the Irish Dental Association Ltd that the Competition Authority is not entitled to rely on materials seized following a search of its premises in the course of an investigation by the authority into alleged breaches of the Competition Act.
The authority is seeking orders in High Court proceedings restraining the association from recommending that its members boycott a new private dental insurance scheme for VHI members.
In a preliminary application, Mr Justice John McKechnie has been asked to rule that the authority, in seeking the orders which would apply pending the outcome of full proceedings, cannot rely on materials seized from the Irish Dental Association offices on foot of a warrant.
The association claims that warrant is invalid because it incorrectly stated that the association was involved in the distributing of "motor vehicles". The judge will rule on the preliminary issue today.
Shane Murphy SC, for the dentists' association, said yesterday his clients were clearly not then or now engaged in the business of selling or supplying motor vehicles. A large volume of documents had been seized unlawfully and unconstitutionally.
Solicitor for the Competition Authority Vanessa Fenton said she had been investigating matters relating to the association and in October 2004, it had been decided to seek a search warrant of its premises.
Information had been prepared for the District Court which set forth the reason they believed a breach of the Competition Act had occurred.
She said the reference to "motor vehicles" in the warrant had occurred as a result of an an oversight on her part. Cross-examined by Mr Murphy, Ms Fenton said that with hindsight the warrant should have been triple-checked.
She believed the search warrant was perfectly valid.