merrion street

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, today [Thursday] announced that he has appointed three new Members to the Competition Authority.

Professor Stephen Calkins will take up his appointment as Head of the Authority’s Mergers Division on the 1^st of December. Mr Calkins is currently Vice President and Professor at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit where he lectures in competition law.

On the 5^th December Mr Gerald FitzGerald will take up his appointment as Head of the Monopolies Division. Mr FitzGerald has already served as a temporary Member of the Authority but will now take up a permanent post.

The third appointee, Mr. Patrick Kenny, will take up his appointment on the 9^th of January 2012 and will head up the Cartels Division. Mr. Kenny currently works with ComReg as a senior economic advisor. Mr. Kenny worked for several years in the Competition Authority as both an economist and a Divisional Manager.

Announcing the appointments, Minister Bruton said:

"I am delighted that such highly qualified personnel have agreed to serve as Members of the Competition Authority. These three people bring with them a wealth of experience and knowledge that will greatly assist the Authority in its important work and I wish them well in their roles".

"As I have said repeatedly, we must work hard to reduce costs across the economy if we are to create an environment in Ireland in which job-creating businesses can start-up, grow and succeed. One key aspect of this is ensuring that there is effective prevention of anti-competitive practices which hurt the ordinary consumer, small business, and ultimately the economy. That is the crucial role of the Competition Authority".