Mr. Brian McHugh:

I am not aware of whether they are operating in Ireland. As the Deputy said, there have been multiple cases throughout Europe and internationally of very large companies that have been involved in cartel behaviour. Many of those do operate in Ireland, in different industries. Again, the idea that cartels do not exist in Ireland and that Ireland is some kind of island of innocence is not something we believe in. We believe cartels are here. All of us today will be careful in terms of suggesting that any specific sector or set of companies might be doing anything. Speaking generally, however, we do believe that there is cartel behaviour. Where we have the data and where we get the legal ability to access that data, we will look at what sectors and areas we might prioritise in respect of looking at that data. Where cartels have existed elsewhere would be one of the criteria we would examine in terms of prioritising the data we would screen to begin with.