Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The State enters into consultation and discussion with the power of this law behind it, and this restricts the ability of organisations to negotiate fully on the part of their members. I do not support, and am absolutely against, price fixing and collective price fixing, but the State is in a monopoly situation. For instance, only the State gives out a GMS contract. Earlier the Minister stated the Minister for Health can fix the rate. Only the State gives out a pharmacy contract. This also comes back to the Department of Health, which fixes the rate.

It happened during our time in government, and it was wrong then as it is now, that when organisations sought to flex their muscles and use their members in collective action, this law was used to prevent them from doing so. They do not have the same ability as workers to use the withdrawal of their labour as a threat because if organisations affected by this law withdraw labour, the Competition Authority will come down on top of them for acting collectively to try to influence prices. When something is not going the State's way, it has the ability to use the law as it is framed.

In recent months many Government backbenchers have gone to meetings throughout the country with groups such as the IMO and stated this type of thing should be done. We will give them a chance this morning to put power behind their words.

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