The Competition Authority has warned that investigations into allegations of price fixing and other types of cartel behaviour remain its top priority.

The authority also pointed to the increased level of enforcement activity outlined in its 1998 annual report which was published yesterday.

During 1998, three cases involving alleged price fixing were brought to court by the authority and settled after the defendants furnished undertakings not to engage in certain practices.

These were the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) for its Ryanair boycott, the Irish Veterinary Union for its alleged price fixing in TB testing and the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) in relation to minimum rates for transport in and out of Dublin Port.

Proceedings are currently pending against the Licensed Vintners Association, the Vintners Federation of Ireland and a number of their members, following an investigation in late 1997.

The authority is also pursuing competition cases against three liquid-milk suppliers and two retailers after an investigation in late 1998, and has referred a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions. Proceedings are also being undertaken against Telecom Eireann for alleged abuse of dominant market position and more specifically for its alleged refusal to "unbundle" local loop access to other operators.

According to the report, 129 notifications of commercial agreements requesting certification or licensing were dealt with by the authority in 1998.

A decision was reached in 92 of these, while 21 of the notifications were withdrawn and 16 were rejected. By the end of the year just 132 agreements awaited a decision.

Only 11 notifications were received in 1998 and the authority expects the current low rate to persist as businesses are not now required to notify arrangements covered by other licensing arrangements.

The authority also produced two studies on aspects of competition in certain sectors of the economy. The subjects were the retail drinks market and the installation of mobile phone masts in Garda stations.

The retail drinks study recommended a complete overhaul of existing licensing laws, while the mobile phone masts study concluded that State organisations should be free to enter into commercial transactions, subject to the general principles of competition law.