Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The market rule is very clear and traders cannot collude or combine to seek to set fees. That is true in the case outlined by the Deputy, involving two or three suppliers, or when it involves 40, 50 or 1,000 suppliers. The rule is they cannot collude to set fees. The Competition Authority has extra resources for enforcement and it can take cases either where it believes there is collusion and parties are combining to control fees on either side of the market or where they are abusing dominance and acting in a predatory way, for example. The Competition Authority stands ready to enforce the rules but the rules are clear-cut in this respect. Where there is an undertaking parties cannot combine to try to set fees. They can negotiate on other conditions, such as with professional groups.

The issue is how this has operated in practice in respect of where the State is on one side of the market, and although there has been consultation, the State ultimately decides the fee. As we saw during the crisis, the State decided to reduce all those fees across the board, which it did without negotiation, with the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts. The State is not a monopolist in the way a private trading organisation would be regarded as such, and that is correct. For example, in the health area the State represents the collective body of patients. That distinction must be drawn and it is upheld by European law, which is reflected in our law. It is there for good reason.