Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Bryan for his presentation and will raise a couple of matters. While others have dealt with the issue, I refer to hello money. It is very interesting because many of the large multiples have appeared before the joint committee and they all deny it exists. Can the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, bring evidence before the joint committee to prove it still is being sought? One reason for abolishing the groceries order in 2006 was to cut out the fact that hello money was being sought. What was the IFA position in 2006 on the abolition of the groceries order? My second question relates to proposed European Union legislation and as Mr. Bryan noted, such legislation may take a lot longer to pass than Irish legislation. Were Ireland to introduce legislation, does Mr. Bryan think it might have a disadvantageous effect on our producers? One of the large multiples that appeared before the joint committee last week operates in nine countries, while Tesco operates worldwide. Were Ireland to introduce a legislative Bill, might that affect our producers were the multiples to source the products from areas which did not have such legislation? Does Mr. Bryan believe it would affect our primary producers in that way? Unless such legislation was passed on a worldwide or European Union basis, could putting in place legislation in Ireland have a detrimental effect on our producers? The multiples could then begin to source the products in other countries.