Mr. Fergal O'Leary:

I might add one comment about below-cost selling. We are all professional regulators but, at the same time, the shorter/longer term issue is important and relevant. The CCPC does not believe a producer should be put out of business by a loss leader. We do not think that is the right thing to do because the committee members are right - and Deputy Corcoran Kennedy addressed this that what is good for today needs to be good in the medium to long term. We believe that loss leaders and below-cost selling can be good as long as it does not devalue opportunities in the future. It can be a way to provide good value on certain products to some consumers on the basis that it has been paid for appropriately. That is an important issue.

I will make a couple of points about the sectoral regulator. The CCPC has a good relationship with all of the sectoral regulators. The commission has co-operation agreements with Central Bank, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, ComReg, and recently signed a new one with the Central Bank. Our job is horizontal, across the economy. In any one year, the commission looks at about 100 different markets within its mergers regime, as part of its enforcement work and studies. The commission's remit allows it to go to the places where there is the most consumer detriment. That focus works particularly well where there are problems in particular sectors and that is why sectoral regulators exist.

Given the range of issues that have been highlighted in this sector over the years, if there is a desire to tackle those problems, ultimately that needs to be resourced. It needs to be resourced efficiently and given all appropriate powers. I mentioned earlier the CCPC's recent proposal to set up a dedicated waste regulator whereby the commission can do certain things, but ultimately more would be achieved by that sector-specific focus. We believe that here as well.