Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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257. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is concerned about recent events in the beef and sheep sector, and in particular the reduction in competition and consequent dominance in beef processing as well as rendering due to the sale of a significant share of the Slaney-Irish Country Meats business to ABP Food Group; his plans to make an appropriate submission to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on the importance of protecting and guaranteeing competition in processing and rendering for farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2291/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The State, through the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, has an existing and well established infrastructure for oversight of competition matters and for dealing with allegations of anti-competitive practices or abuse of a dominant position. I understand that acquisitions or mergers of organisations with turnover exceeding certain statutory thresholds are required to be notified to that body or the EU Commission, which conduct an assessment to determine whether there will be any “substantial lessening of competition”. The acquisition referred to by the deputy will be subject to the relevant statutory requirements under competition law.