Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We will work with the system. If the Competition Authority asks for our opinion on anything we will obviously give full details of our views from a policy viewpoint. However, there are dangers with Ministers getting involved in trying to impact on mergers. There is a State body that has a legal obligation to assess these things properly and make informed choices. We all call it the Competition Authority but it is now titled the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. It is a pretty robust organisation. I have already received letters from them warning me not to stray into price negotiation areas with the beef forum, for example. They are watching this sector pretty closely, so let us see what they have to say.

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