HSE deemed an “undertaking” under Competition Law. Medicall Ambulance Limited v Health Service Executive [2010 No.200 J.R]

This case concerns a challenge by the plaintiff’s to the legality of the “strictly rotational” allocation of ambulance service requests. Mr Justice Cooke reviewed a number of cases which considered the definition of an undertaking under both the Irish Competition Act and under EU law. Particular regard was paid to the issue of profitability; the circumstances whereby a public body acts exclusively in a regulatory capacity or discharges a public interest function and the circumstances where the particular activities are typical of and capable of being provided by private operators. Of particular relevance to this case was the fact that the provision of ambulance services was deemed to essentially amount to a commercial service and the fact that such a service is not a prescribed statutory function of the HSE.