The Competition Authority (CA) has announced that it is to take public consultations on how to deal with company mergers under the Competition Act, 2002.
Under the Act, a new merger regime will come into effect on January 1st next year. It will see the CA taking control of the merger review process from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Mr Declan Purcell, Director of the Authority’s Competition Policy Division, explained that the public consultation was to give businesses, consumers and the public an opportunity to contribute on how decisions and the new arrangements will work.
CA proposals on how the changes will be implemented have been published on their website, while a conference in the Hilton Hotel, Dublin, on September 9th will outline and debate the new guidelines.
"Given the substantive procedural changes that are required by the new legislation, it is vital that we seek, and listen to, the views of interested parties before we put the new system in place," Mr Purcell said.
"The conference will be of particular interest to business people, as well as competition law practitioners."
The CA will issue final versions of its procedures and guidelines in November, 2002.