The Competition Authority has cleared the proposed merger of Topaz and Statoil oil companies due to an apparent mix-up in dates.
Paul Coghlan, Fine Gael enterprise spokesman
The authority said in a statement this morning that the deadline for an initial determination on the merger had passed yesterday "without any determination having been made". "As a result, the parties are now free to put the merger into effect," the statement added.
"Separately, Topaz will enter into discussions with the Competition Authority concerning certain ancillary elements of its merged business."
In June, the Topaz Energy Group said it wanted to buy the retail and commercial business of Statoil in the Republic of Ireland for about €280m and the matter was referred to the Competition Authority.
It was reported this morning learned that the deal will be allowed to proceed due to a technicality, which resulted in the authority missing out on making its decision by one day.
The Competition Watchdog recently extended the first phase of its investigation of the Statoil sale and was in talks with Topaz on issues relating to competition concerns.
The body had to make a decision this week on whether to approve the merger with or without conditions, or to undertake a more extensive investigation.
It was reported that a miscalculation of dates resulted in the Authority believing that they had to make a determination by October 10th (yesterday). But the deadline was actually last Monday, October 9th.
Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Paul Coghlan said he was "appalled" that the Competition Authority had "failed to protect the public interest" in the Statoil deal.
"Apparently a technical error resulted in the Authority letting the deal slip through without any conditions being attached, because the deadline had been missed," he said.
Mr Coghlan said the Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin should appoint a senior official to investigate what he termed a mistake.
"Every day motorists are faced with a dwindling number of petrol stations from which to buy their fuel. Less choice means less competition and ultimately higher prices," he said.
"The Statoil transaction involved the acquisition of 69 petrol stations by a company that only last year bought the Shell Ireland network of 55 stations. It is disgraceful that the transaction will now be approved by default, simply because the Authority missed the key dates."
"The Competition Authority has been given wide powers and increased funding and resources by the Oireachtas. It is important that the Authority be held accountable for the error. The cock-up needs to be investigated urgently to ensure that the authority does not make a similar error again."