A retired Mayo businessman has been given a six-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay a €15,000 fine over his involvement in a home-heating oil cartel.

Judge Katherine Delahunt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court said JP Lambe, chairman of the Connacht Oil Promotion Federation, had participated fully in this criminal activity and was an experienced businessman.

She said that "without his talent, acumen and knowledge, this kind of distortion could probably not have functioned at any significant level".

The court heard that, as a result of the cartel's price fixing, customers were paying perhaps 10 per cent more than they would have otherwise and were out of pocket by up to €4.4 million.

Lambe (69), of Brookhill, Claremorris, pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting a named oil company to enter agreements to prevent, restrict or distort competition and thereby directly or indirectly fix the selling price of gas, oil and kerosene.

The former treasurer of Mayo GAA county board and Mayo representative of the Central GAA Council took an unpaid and part-time position as chairman of the federation, which agreed to fix prices. Lambe had a long career in the oil industry and was approached to act as an independent arbitrator to facilitate agreement between oil distributors in Galway.

David McFadden, a solicitor and officer of the Competition Authority, told George Birmingham SC, prosecuting, that he led an investigation into the activities of "the great bulk" of oil distributors in Galway.

Mr McFadden said that ostensibly competing companies in Galway came together under a trade association called the Connacht Oil Promotion Federation and entered agreements to fix prices.

Mr McFadden said that, while the Competition Authority had not gone into the actual effect of the price fixing, the estimated cost to the public was possibly €4.4 million over a 12-month period and it was possible that prices were 10 per cent higher than they would otherwise have been.

The investigation revealed a high level of conformity across many distributors in the area and meetings were held to agree a tiered pricing structure. Between June 2001 and February 2002 Lambe chaired 18 meetings across Galway.

Mr McFadden said there was a "high level of participation" among distributors, although a small number refused to get involved. Lambe sought to induce those not involved to join the cartel.

Roderick O'Hanlon SC, defending, said his client owned his own home, was on a pension and had €250,000 in the bank in his and his wife's name. Mr McFadden agreed with Mr O'Hanlon that Lambe was unpaid, only recovered expenses, and was not party to the illegal gains made.