Competition body accused of exaggerating price claims

The Competition Authority has been accused of exaggeration in a report it used to back a call for the abolition of the Groceries Order.

The accusation was made by a consultant hired by the Oireachtas committee on enterprise and small enterprise to study the contentious report.

The Competition Authority had claimed that CSO figures showed that the order, which bans below-cost selling, was fuelling increases in the price of food.

However, speaking before the Oireachtas committee today, consultant Myles O'Reilly said the authority had selectively chosen the statistics it used in order to suit its case.