Anti-competitive schoolbus trial involving Tipperary individuals likely to take months

The trial of 10 individuals and three companies accused of anti-competition offences regarding the provision of schoolbus services in the State is expected to last three months when it commences before the Central Criminal Court.

The accused are alleged to have entered into an agreement that had as its object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition in trade in the provision of schoolbus services in the State.

The alleged offences are contrary to sections 4 (1), 6 (1), 8 (1) and 8 (6) of the Competition Act 2002.

The 13 cases were taken forward by the Director of Public Prosecutions at the behest of the office of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

The charges come on foot of a 2016 investigation and search operation at businesses and private residences into the alleged activities of private bus operators who had bid for and been awarded school bus routes administered by Bus Éireann.

Tessa White BL, for the State, told Mr Justice Paul McDermott on Tuesday that this was an anti-competitive behaviour case involving school bus services.

The court previously heard last October that there was a “significant” amount of disclosure involved in the case but Ms White informed the judge this Tuesday that the disclosure was now complete.

Ms White asked Mr Justice McDermott for all parties in the case to be kept together and said that the trial would last 12 weeks

She also asked the judge to fix a trial date in respect of the 10 individuals and three companies, which is to be heard as a single trial.

Mr Justice McDermott was previously told that the case was to be heard in Tipperary, that a trial date of October 2024 had been mentioned and that the amount of documents in the case was “vast”.

On Tuesday, Ms White told Mr Justice McDermott that the disclosure was voluminous but accessible.

The judge assigned six documentary junior barristers to the case after being told about the large amounts of disclosure by defence counsel.

Instead of fixing a trial date on Tuesday, the judge adjourned the matter to June 9, when progress in the case will be reviewed.

Mr Justice McDermott said he would not be assigning a judge to manage the case at the present time as he would like to know on the next date what was contemplated for the pre-trial applications and how long they would take.

The judge said, with regard to a potential trial venue, he did not have Croke Park facilities available to him at the moment and that there had to be a suitable venue for the 15-person jury and all parties in the case.

In reply, Ms White said that the Director of Public Prosecutions had a strong preference for the case to be held in Dublin and asked for an opportunity to make an application to the court on that issue at a later date.

Ms White also suggested to the judge that an overflow court in the Criminal Courts of Justice building might be used for the trial but Mr Justice McDermott said making courts available for overflow facilities wasn't a preference that he had.

“The facilities available are finite in the building,” he added.

Noel Browne of Templenahurney, Bansha; Larry Hickey (71) of Gortnaclogh, Ardmayle, Cashel; John Glasheen Limited, Holycross, Thurles; Frances Collison, Emill, Cloughjordan; Andrew Walsh, Derrymore, Roscrea; Margaret Callanan: Dovea Upper, Bouladuff, Thurles; Callanan Coaches Limited, Dovea, Bouladuff, Thurles, and Edward Callanan, Dovea Upper, Bouladuff, Thurles, are all accused of under section 3 (1) of the Competition Act 2002, as amended.

They are accused that they did between the January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2016, within the State, enter into or implement an agreement with other such undertakings which had as its object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition in trade in the provision of school bus services in the State.

Meanwhile, Raymond Heney (52), Annray House, Camas, Cashel; Anthony Flynn (49), Farnamanagh, Golden Road, Cashel; Elaine Glasheen, Holycross, Thurles; Malachy Collison Emill, Cloughjordan, and Collison Coach Co Ltd, Emill, Cloughjordan, are all accused of an “undertaking” within the meaning of section 3 (1) of the Competition Act 2002, as amended.

They are accused that they did between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2016, within the State, “authorise or consent to the said undertaking entering into or implementing an agreement with other such undertakings which had as its object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition in trade in the provision of school bus services in the State”.

Section 4 of the Competition Act states that it is an offence to enter into “agreements between undertakings, decision by associations of undertakings and concerted practices which have as their object or effect prevention, restriction or distortion of competition in trade in any goods or services in the State that directly or indirectly fix purchase or selling prices or any other trading conditions”.