Businessman to seek €250m compensation from CRH

A BUSINESSMAN who claims unlawful practices by one of the country’s largest companies destroyed his livelihood is to seek more than €250 million in compensation.

Seamus Maye has lodged documents with the High Court alleging price-fixing by Cement Roadstone Holdings (CRH) drove him out of business and left him blacklisted by the banks.

CRH denies the allegations but, if the case goes to full hearing, the multi-national building materials provider will be asked potentially embarrassing questions. Its past run-ins with authorities in other countries could also be dragged up.

Among Mr Maye’s complaints is the allegation that CRH, by far the biggest operator in the Irish cement industry, used bullying tactics to try to force him secretly to sell his cement business to CRH while ostensibly remaining the owner. He claims the ploy was repeated by CRH time and again to allow the company get around monopoly legislation and enable it artificially to inflate prices.

The allegation, if true, would leave CRH open to further suits by its customers who include some of country's largest construction companies and local authorities.

Mr Maye has already run into a major obstacle in the case, however, after the High Court ruled against him on preliminary matters during the summer, refusing him disclosure of documents and granting costs to CRH. He is planning an appeal to the Supreme Court but says he will pursue the High Court action regardless of the outcome: “A lot of people who have had the same experiences with CRH over the years are now coming to me to support my case. They can’t all take actions because they are statute-barred but I will be able to use their information as evidence.”

Numerous calls have been made in the Dáil in recent years for an investigation into the Irish cement industry and CRH's dominant position in the market. Two years ago the Cement (Repeal of Enactments) Act was brought in to revoke legislation introduced between the 1930s and 1960s to protect the CRH subsidiary, Irish Cement, when it began life as a State body.

The Competition Authority refused to comment on reports that it had begun an investigation into the industry and a spokesman for CRH said it had no knowledge of any probe into its activities.

Mr Maye said, however, that he understood an inquiry was underway and he was confident the findings would bolster his High Court action. Mr Maye, who is now based in County Sligo and runs a timber frame house company, is also taking action on another front, urging the Moriarty Tribunal to include CRH’s business relations in its inquiry. A CRH spokesman declined to discuss details of Mr Maye’s claims, saying they would be met head-on in court: “CRH reject the allegations and will be vigorously defending them in court.”