The President of the ICMSA, Jackie Cahill, has described the Competition Authority as a 'useless, pointless quango' that has utterly failed to deliver on its main task and has instead picked on soft options and arrived at decisions which defy logic.
The farming leader said the latest decision of the Competition Authority to block the rational consolidation of Irish food brands through the purchase of the Breeo brands by Kerry Group from Dairygold is a perfect example of the misguided and harmful approach of the Irish Competition Authority.
Mr Cahill said the Irish Competition Authority is seen by every reputable group in the Irish agriculture and Irish agri-business sector as fundamentally flawed because the Authority seems to view the Irish scene as a self-contained market when it couldn't be more obvious that that's not the case.
Mr Cahill continued: 'So we see the Competition Authority blocking any form of rationalisation which attempts to bring about some level of parity between the super-powerful international retailers and local suppliers.
'Why have we never seen the Authority go after these incredibly powerful supermarkets rather than Irish farmers and Irish food producers?
'In case after case, the Competition Authority has taken the 'soft option' of 'getting tough' with Irish farmers and Irish meat processors, with their latest target being Irish branded food distribution, while ignoring much more obvious threats.'
