Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation. I welcome the Bill and thank the Minister for bringing it forward. It has been long awaited for many different reasons. I wish to focus my contribution on the agricultural sector and the smaller producers in particular, that is, those growing fruit and vegetables and selling them on to the larger multinational corporations. I met with many such producers in recent times and before I was elected and they raised the issue of below cost selling in the sector and the fact that there is not a fair balance among all of the stakeholders and players on the field. This has been apparent for a long time and has resulted in many smaller producers being unable to sustain their businesses. We must deal with that. I know that I am always blowing the trumpet for County Meath, but we have a fantastic reputation for the quality of our food and local produce and for our people. I would hate to see a fantastic industry and tradition disappear because we took our eye of the ball for a split second, because that is all it takes. Something must be done and this Bill, without a doubt, is a good start and I thank the Minister for that.

The legislation deals with a number of different issues but I particularly welcome the section that focuses on grocery goods. We need to regulate certain codes of practice in the sector. We need to do that in order to strike a good balance and to ensure fairness between the different stakeholders, including suppliers, retailers and consumers. We need to give consumers some credit in terms of what they are buying and where they are buying it. Most people that I speak to want fresh, local, Irish produce and are often prepared to pay that little bit more to keep it Irish, to ensure that they get what they want and that their neighbours do not go out of business. It is unfortunate that we need to introduce regulations in this area but needs must. I welcome the Bill and anything that protects the interests of smaller farmers. I know that initially there was talk of a code of conduct but I believe that statutory regulation is what is needed and I am delighted that this is the route the Minister has taken. Codes of conduct are more often than not ignored so we need to ensure that the legislation is effective and is adhered to. The regulations will have full legislative force and will be enforceable by law in the context of the issues covered by them.

An issue that was raised with me by many people on the ground was the need for an ombudsman to oversee things. I spoke to the Minister about this and believe we should keep it in mind and not dismiss it out of hand. Hopefully the merging of the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority will create a strong oversight body that will do the work of an ombudsman. However, we will have to see how that works in practice. We must make sure that it is completely independent and that people feel they can make a complaint without facing repercussions elsewhere. People need to feel that they are completely protected and I hope that is what we will see.

When it comes to the regulations, there are many issues covered in the Bill which I welcome but it would be important to see more information on these regulations before they go into the legislation itself. I am sure the Minister would agree that this is legislation from which we can work and which we can build on and strengthen over time, according to what works and what does not. There are two specific issues about which I am concerned, the first being the requirement for a company to have an annual worldwide turnover of €50 million in order to enter into the contract. That it is fine for the small grower who deals directly with the likes of Tesco, Aldi or Lidl, all of which have a turnover of over €50 million every year, but it is problematic for those who sell their produce to a middleman or a distribution company which does not have a turnover €50 million annually. Perhaps we could examine the possibility of reducing the threshold of €50 million. The second issue is retention of title which is not addressed in the Bill. This is a problem that many farmers and suppliers have to deal with when a company goes bust. By right, the goods should still belong to the farmer or producer until money has changed hands. We need to do something to protect the smaller farmer.

Much of what is contained in the Bill is a step in the right direction. I welcome the legislation, although I think it could possibly go a bit further. Having said that, I know the Minister is open to change and debate, which I also welcome.

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