Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

Although Ryanair's objective is to win market share from the competition, it has not been accused of being predatory. Not all aggressive prices are predatory. Why should we assume that a supermarket that charges low prices or engages in aggressive pricing is trying to put the opposition out of business? Aggressive pricing is fair and is designed to attract customers and win market share. It benefits consumers and encourages businesses to be efficient and deliver value for money. Predatory pricing is different. It is the unfair and deliberate use of market power to put people out of business. In regulating competition in any sector of the economy, it is critical that we distinguish between the two. We must be able to determine when the line between aggressive and predatory pricing has been crossed.

The key distinguishing feature of predatory pricing is that it is unfair and deliberate misuse of market power. Competition law provides a mechanism to measure this unfair and deliberate misuse of market power. It is a persistent and prolonged sale of a product below cost by a firm that is dominant in its market. If we reject this measurement, we reject the distinction between aggressive and predatory. If we reject the measurement, we will prohibit valid low pricing strategies that benefit consumers and the economy as a whole. That is why the concept of predatory pricing by a non-dominant firm is a contradiction in terms. When it comes to deciding whether a firm is dominant, competition law does not specify the geographical boundaries of the relevant market beyond saying it can be in the State or any part of the State. We will have the opportunity to address the issue in greater detail on Committee Stage. For now the strength of the law on dominance is its flexibility and ability to be adapted to each set of circumstances.

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