A Galway company was fined €7,500 and its director €1,500 at Galway Circuit Criminal Court yesterday for being involved in a cartel that fixed the price of home heating oil in Galway between 2001 and 2002.

Michael MacMahon, Moy Road, Kinvara, Co Galway, pleaded guilty to a single charge of price-fixing as part of a cartel. He admitted a separate, similar charge in relation to his company, Fermac Oil & Transport.

Yesterday's proceedings bring to 12 the number of companies and directors who have been convicted in recent weeks for operating a cartel that effectively increased the cost of home heating oil in Galway by around 10 per cent while it was in operation.

Six companies and five company directors, along with JP Lambe, described as the cartel's "enforcer", have been dealt with by the courts.

Similar charges in relation to five other companies and four company directors are to be mentioned at Galway Circuit Court on April 25th.

David McFadden of the Competition Authority told the court yesterday that Mr MacMahon operated a one-truck business and had attended four meetings of the price-fixing cartel organised through the Connacht Oil Promotion Federation.

Mr McFadden agreed with defence counsel, Geri Silke, that her client had been put under a lot of pressure and had been "roped in" by the bigger players to attend price-fixing meetings.

Judge Raymond Groarke said he accepted the accused was "small fry", but cartels, he observed, only succeeded when the "smallest people" were involved.

"The law applies to the small man just as much as for the bigger man," Judge Groarke said before imposing the fines.

He noted that Fermac Oil and Mr MacMahon had not entered a plea until after Flanagan Oil and its director were found guilty by a jury earlier this month.