CRH sues for return of files seized in competition inquiry

Irish building materials major CRH has gone to the High Court to seek the return of documents seized by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in a "dawn raid" in May,

The proceedings relate to a raid carried out on CRH subsidiary Irish Cement earlier this year as part of a competition inquiry. 

CRH has now lodged court proceedings seeking a declaration that certain sections of the files seized by the CCPC were not related to the Irish Cement investigation.

A company spokesperson said: “Irish Cement fully facilitated the inspection and is continuing to co-operate fully with the CCPC. In undertaking this inspection, the CCPC removed documents that are unrelated to Irish Cement and clearly outside the scope of its inspection."

“CRH and Irish Cement have issued proceedings to retrieve these documents from the CCPC,” the spokesman added. Affidavits were filed last Tuesday, according to the Courts Service website.

The CCPC said it would defend the case fully and that it "believes that all of the material seized at the premises of Irish Cement during the inspection was seized in accordance with the terms of the relevant search warrant and in the lawful exercise of the Commission's powers."