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Amendment of sections 6, 7 and 8 of the Act of 1978.
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17.—(1) Section 6 of the Act of 1978 is hereby amended by the insertion after “section 3” of “or section 7”.
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(2) The Act of 1978 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following for section 7:
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“7.—Upon receipt of a notification under section 5 the Minister shall—
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(a) as soon as practicable inform the enterprises which made the notification and any other enterprise involved which enquires of him that he has decided not to make an order under section 9 in relation to the proposed merger or take-over, or
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(b) within 30 days of the commencement of the relevant period refer the notification to the Authority for investigation.”.
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(3) Section 8 (1) of the Act of 1978 is hereby amended by the insertion after the word “date” of “not being less than 30 days after the reference”.
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(4) Section 8 of the Act of 1978 is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (2) of the following:
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“(2) (a) A report of the Authority under subsection (1) shall state its opinion as to whether or not the proposed merger or take-over concerned would be likely to prevent or restrict competition or restrain trade in any goods or services and would be likely to operate against the common good.
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(b) The Authority shall give its views on the likely effect of the proposed merger or take-over on the common good in respect of:
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(i) continuity of supplies or services,
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(ii) level of employment,
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(iii) regional development,
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(iv) rationalisation of operations in the interests of greater efficiency,
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(v) research and development,
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(vi) increased production,
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(vii) access to markets,
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(viii) shareholders and partners,
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(ix) employees,
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(x) consumers.”.
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(5) The Minister shall publish any such report, with due regard to commercial confidentiality, within two months of its being furnished to him by the Authority.
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(6) The Schedule to the Act of 1978 is hereby repealed.
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