The independent group appointed by the Government to investigate allegations of anti-competitive behaviour in the meat industry faces a tough task as the Competition Authority is understood not to have found prima-facie evidence of price fixing.
Chaired by Mr Kevin Bonner, a consultant with Dublin firm Business Insight, the group must report to the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, within three months.
The group's other members are UCD's professor of applied agricultural economics, Mr Seamus Sheehy, and Mr Colm McCarthy of DKM Consulting.
But it understood that the Competition Authority has not found evidence of price fixing in an enforcement investigation begun in 1997. The investigation was based on complaints received in 1996.
However, allegations of anti-competitive behaviour have persisted.
The Government had the option to instruct the authority to conduct a special inquiry under Section 11 of the Competition Act. In such a case the authority would have reported directly to the Government, but this approach was rejected on two counts.
First, any evidence uncovered by the authority in a Section 11 inquiry could not be used during the course of an enforcement inquiry, which would typically result in a criminal proceeding in the courts if evidence emerged.
Second, under Section 11 the authority can use its powers of discovery only if it has prima-facie evidence of anti-competitive behaviour.
The independent group must try to establish why there is such a large differential in the price paid by meat processors to farmers and the retail price paid by consumers.
