daa Carpark block case study

In March 2024, the CCPC blocked daa’s proposed purchase of the site of the former QuickPark car park at Dublin Airport.

The CCPC’s investigation found that the deal would have substantially lessened competition in car parking serving Dublin Airport, as daa would own over 90% of the public car parking spaces if the purchase went ahead. In the CCPC’s view, this would have harmful consequences for consumers, including potentially higher prices.

Ireland’s merger regime ensures that mergers will be approved only where they would not substantially lessen competition. Where that is not the case, and where there are no appropriate options available to remedy the competition concerns, the CCPC will prohibit the merger. Our goal is to ensure that competition is protected to the benefit of consumers.

Analysis from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) subsequently released in 2025 revealed clear benefits of increased competition for car parking business at Dublin Airport, including more choice, greater supply, and lower prices for consumers.

This followed the entry of a new competitor to the car park market at Dublin Airport.

In March 2025, the former QuickPark site was reopened by APCOA Parking Ireland, trading as Park2Travel, creating an additional 6,122 parking spaces at Dublin Airport. This was made possible by the CCPC’s block of daa’s attempted purchase of the former QuickPark site, which would have created a near-monopoly.