Better Merger Outcomes Due to Increased Scrutiny by Ireland’s NCA? the Q-Park/Tazbell Transaction

Paul Gorecki

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: Ireland’s national competition authority has recently increased scrutiny of mergers using Assessments (aka Statement of Objections). Despite using this approach, the authority’s 2023 determination of the proposed acquisition by Q-Park of Tazbell is fatally flawed. The authority had competition concerns in three local markets for the supply of off-street car parking spaces to the public. The transaction was cleared with remedies. The paper argues that there was no substantial lessening of competition. The remedies were inadequate. Why? Contributing factors include lack of coherence reflecting confirmation bias. Merger control can be improved by, inter alia: increasing the number of CCPC executive board members to reduce governance overload; and encouraging diverse internal views and peer review through the appointment of a chief economist. The paper forms part of a broader critical narrative of merger control in Ireland.

Keywords: mergers; structural remedies; substantial lessening of competition; critical loss analysis; and Competition Act 2002; car parking. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 D43 K21 L41 R4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-12-15
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