Effective competition regulation is essential for the proper running of markets, an IBEC conference on competition policy has heard. Mr Jim Fitzharris, assistant secretary of the Smurfit Group, said when the company tried to enter new markets, regulation was its ally. "If a market is not regulated, it can be very difficult for an outsider to penetrate it, with cartels and price fixing." He said if current thinking in the Competition Authority and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment had prevailed when the Smurfit Group was starting in business, it might not have achieved the scale it has.

He was speaking in Dublin at the conference on the topic: "Are present policies appropriate for the Irish economy?".

Mr Jeffrey Zuckerman, a former director of the US Bureau of Competition, attacked EU competition policy. He said the United States had reformed its approach in the 1980s, but there had been no similar changes by the EU Commission.

The former chief executive of the ESB, Mr Joe Moran, said State-owned companies could change to compete successfully.

"If these companies are to be capable of competing in open markets, on a level playing field, as they must, then the State will have to adequately support and encourage them in preparing for competition," he said.

He said State companies operated under a single Government department and this could lead to significant potential conflicts of interest. This was because departments could find themselves operating as owners, regulators and policy-maker all at the same time.