Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The question I asked initially was how a supplier could get products onto Tesco's shelves, whether the store is in Dublin, Dún Laoghaire or Donegal. What is the procedure that a supplier would have to go through to get a product to the shelf? Is there a cost? If there is a cost and in the context of Food Harvest 2020, it would have a knock-on effect on producers being able to achieve targets in seven years.

Am I to infer from today's discussion that Tesco has a very good relationship with suppliers and, if that is so, is the suggestion of unfair practices totally untrue? Will the witnesses categorically state that there are no unfair or sharp practices going on within the organisation in dealing with suppliers? There are clearly good internal structures to ensure such practices do not happen so there may not be major costs involved in putting in place a new code. Would there be an objection, for example, to a Government-appointed adjudicator auditing the company's compliance structures? Does anybody in Tesco have an objection to a sample of suppliers being interviewed by this committee or its members on a confidential basis to discuss arrangements between the company and the suppliers, with company representatives discussing the results here afterwards?