THE removal of the Groceries Order, which bans below cost selling in that sector, would promote a greater degree of competition in the sector, according to Mr Paddy McNutt, the chairman of the Competition Authority. The Groceries' Order is an anomaly, he said, and any real competition benefits would justify the risk of removing it.

Mr McNutt, speaking at a seminar in Dublin, said that the authority "must play and be seen to play an active role in regulatory reform and privatisation". It should have membership across a wide display of regulatory bodies, where the authority could be actively involved in competition aspects, making use of both its investigative and enforcement powers, he said.

Speaking about mergers policy, Mr McNutt said that there was considerable merit to a merger policy that relied on simple rules and procedures. An alternative, he said, would be a radical change that would require mergers to be notified to an independent agency such as the Competition Authority.

Cablelin must be split from Telecom Eireann, the Progressive Democrat's Mr Desmond O'Malley told the seminar. Mr O'Malley called for greater competition in the energy, telecommunications and transport sectors.

According to Mr O'Malley excess costs at Telecom could be as high as £100 million a year, which amounts to a telecommunications, tax of that amount.

"There are thousands of jobs to be won in areas such as telephone sales and computer software support if we have a competitive telecommunications industry," he said.