A very interesting case reported this week following on from the Supreme Court decision last year in respect of DPP v Hegarty which held inter alia that an individual employee can be tried for a breach of Irish competition law even if his employer has not been convicted of an offence.On 3 May 2012, in the Galway Circuit Criminal Court, the jury separately found Mr. Hegarty guilty of price-fixing and he was sentenced to two years in prison (suspended) and fined €30,000. Mr. Hegarty faces disqualification from being a company director for five years and becomes the first ever individual in Ireland or in the EU to be convicted by a jury for price-fixing.The Irish Competition Authority is expected to publish its revised Cartel Immunity Programme soon which is currently being considered by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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