Mr. Donald Mackay:

I will answer some but not all of the questions asked; Mr. O'Connor will deal with the remainder.

I will begin with the question relating to trade unions. Our employees earn in excess of 30% more than the industry average. We treat them very well and have a very good record of retention in our business. The Deputy has stated we discourage employees from being members of trade unions, but that is not the case. We do not recognise trade unions, but we also do not discourage anyone from being a member of a trade union. The choice in that regard is entirely his or her own. The conditions we offer within our business are excellent and recognised as such. We do not make the link between suppliers being mistreated and how we treat our employees. In fact, we also have a very strong record in terms of how we treat our suppliers. This is consistent with how we treat our employees. There is a consistency but not the one the Deputy is suggesting. It is actually the opposite of what he is suggesting.

On DNA testing and whether our activities in this regard seem to contradict what we said about the introduction of a code of practice giving rise to an additional cost, the Deputy inquired as to why we would not happily shoulder that cost as well as the cost of DNA testing. DNA testing will definitely work and certainly achieve the outcome intended. In other words, the DNA material in products will be tested. However, we remain unconvinced as to whether a code of practice, be it voluntary or statutory, will work and achieve what is envisaged in the context of people who believe they have been mistreated in coming forward and availing of the process. There is already legislation in place of which people might avail, but this is not happening. We are not convinced, therefore, that the introduction of a code will not simply give rise to an additional layer of cost and an extra burden of administration. The Deputy has stated all companies are claiming to be compliant, but we can only speak for ourselves. We certainly are compliant. We will be obliged to introduce additional administration - and additional labour to deal with this issue - if any of the codes of practice proposed is introduced. We are compliant and after the introduction of a code, we will be compliant, but we will have a higher cost base. If the introduction of a code does not achieve what is envisaged for it, we will have a higher cost base with no return. That is our concern and why it is different from the introduction of DNA testing which will work.