A Veterinary Misdiagnosis: Analysing the Decision of Ireland’s CCPC in the IVC Evidensia/Old Church Vets Merger

Patrick Massey

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This paper analyses the decision of Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in relation to a merger between two veterinary practice groups. Several aspects of the CCPC’s analysis in the case are highly unsatisfactory. Based on the information contained in the CCPC Determination, there is a relative high probability that the CCPC decision constitutes a Type II (false positive) error, i.e. the CCPC failed to identify a potentially anti-competitive merger. The CCPC decision in this case adds to list of cases involving potential Type I and Type II errors, raising serious questions about the quality of the CCPC’s merger analysis and internal quality control procedures. It also suggests that lessons have not been learned from previous cases.

Keywords: Merger Control; Market Definition; Type II error; substantial lessening of competition; Catchment Areas; Closeness of competition. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K21 L13 L40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05-12
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