The head of a bottled gas company was convicted yesterday for refusing to supply what he said was sensitive commercial information to the Competition Authority.

Pat Morgan, chief executive of cylinder-gas supply company Trugas Ltd accused the authority of leaking information and of allowing his competitors, who dominate the market, to "hold sway".

Mr Morgan denied a charge of failing to comply with a witness summons to attend a hearing at the authority's Dublin offices on July 28, 2004, contrary to the Competition Act 2002.

Judge Anne Ryan convicted him and gave him until February to provide the information required.

Dublin District Court heard the bottled gas market is regulated by the authority through a licence system that allows companies to make agreements which, while normally considered anti-competitive, were not so provided certain conditions are met.

Calor and Flogas are the dominant players, while Trugas holds about one per cent market share.

Dr Paul Gorecki, of the authority's monopolies division, said that when the first of these agreements expired in 1999, the authority conducted a consultative exercise in which all companies were invited to make submissions. The first submissions were analysed and as a result, it was decided that more information was needed.

Trugas, Boyne Business Centre, Drogheda, Co Louth, made a submission, but failed to answer key questions regarding its volume of sales and retail outlets for 2003.

There was a large amount of correspondence between both sides, but the information for that year was not supplied.

Dr Barry O'Donnell, a case officer with the authority, said the information was required to calculate market share for determining exclusive agreements in the marketplace.

Dr O'Donnell spoke by phone in June 2004 to Mr Morgan, who refused to answer the key questions, again citing the reason that this was "sensitive commercial information". He subsequently failed to attend the hearing.

David McFadden, the authority's solicitor and legal officer, said he wrote to Mr Morgan warning him he could be liable to a fine of €2,000 and/or a six-month prison sentence for failure to comply with the witness summons.

Mr McFadden said any information would be treated confidentially but if it was necessary to disclose it, he would be informed in advance.

Mr Morgan replied that Trugas had "very few reasons to trust the Competition Authority" given its track record over the last 10 years. The assurance of confidentiality was "laced with exceptions" and it was his belief that Flogas and Calor "hold sway in Parnell Square".

"I do believe information leaks out of the Competition Authority and I believe [ the hearing] that was organised was a charade," he told the court.

His company spent €53,000 on two separate submissions to the authority and yet, just before he was summonsed to attend the July 28 hearing, he was told the authority was not aware of what his company had done. "It is my belief that we are not being heard," he said.

His competitors had "even gone to the extent of breaking into our premises".

Trugas has taken its case to the European Union, Mr Morgan said. Judge Ryan said she was satisfied the Competition Authority's case had been proved.