| The competition watchdog is to launch
a formal investigation into arrangements for the €350m Poolbeg
incinerator plant, The Irish Independent has learned.
News of the investigation comes following a long line of
controversies surrounding the plant, including its size and
location.
Lawyers for the authority spent time assessing anti-competitive
complaints about the incinerator before deciding on a formal
investigation, sources confirmed.
While the Competition
Authority screens every complaint it receives, it
only conducts formal investigations if there is 'solid
evidence' that rules have been broken, according to its
most recent annual report.
The probe comes following submissions to the body from private
waste management companies, who allege that the arrangement
between the combined operators of the plant is anti-competitive
by favouring Poolbeg as the facility to treat waste from the
wider Dublin region.
US waste giant Covanta
Energy is the main company behind the Dublin Waste-to-Energy
plant at Poolbeg, while Danish firm Dong
is its private partner in the plant.
Dublin City Council is the public arm of the operation. The
Competition Authority has written to DCC informing it of the
investigation. The monopolies division of the watchdog will
conduct the probe following the allegations by the operators.
In criminal cases, the authority can refer its findings to
the Director of Public Prosecutions for judgment.
In civil cases, the watchdog can bring a case to the High
Court, which can impose fines ranging from €3,000 to €4m for
more serious breaches.
The decision by the authority to go ahead with the investigation
comes just months after the High Court ruled that Dublin's
four local authorities - including Dublin City Council - abused
their dominant position in the household waste market in a
bid to oust private operators.
In December, Mr Justice Liam McKechnie quashed
changes to the Dublin waste management plan, whereby only
the councils - or contractors appointed by them - could collect
household waste in the region. It was also claimed in court
that the reason for wanting this control was so there would
be enough raw material for the 600,000-tonne a year facility
at Poolbeg.
DCC has committed to supplying at least 320,000 tonnes of
waste to the incinerator each year. Covanta Energy is already
in talks with private waste operators around the country to
supply the 280,000 additional tonnage required to fill the
plant, according to reports.
Source - The Irish Independent
|
