Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the executives from Lidl and congratulate them on the announcement the week before last of Lidl's recent increase in market share, which is an amazing achievement. I will be brief because I will simply echo the labelling conversation. Given Lidl's size, the amazing resources it has available to it in Europe and how powerful and successful it is, it is really good to hear its representatives speak about the labelling. I refer to labels such as smoked in Ireland, caught in Ireland or produced in Ireland in the case of salmon and we really must get this right once and for all for the benefit of the consumer. Consequently, on foot of Mr. McGrath's response to Deputy Barry's question in particular, I believe that Lidl is on this path. Were we able to move to using QR codes in order that one could scan one's telephone over the product and could then see what it was, it would be an amazing new world. However, we are on a journey and I welcome that.

I happened to visit Bord Bia last week and again, I believe Lidl has done a great job. I know one or two of its suppliers and they tell me how good Lidl is to deal with. However, one must be cognisant of the fact that in the main, Lidl is a private label store. While I recognise that its private label sometimes is better than branded products, its suppliers are helping to build its brand. While it is wonderful that Lidl does not seek promotional moneys, one must acknowledge the suppliers are helping to build the Lidl brand and that the company has done a magnificent job in Ireland. I have just two questions on suppliers. First, must they engage in long-term agreements, LTAs, with Lidl? For example, were I to enter into a contract would I be obliged, once I hit €1 million in turnover, to pay over a cheque? In other countries and other retailers - none of which is in Ireland as one must be careful of what one says - such practices exist, even in respect of private labels. Second, if someone is producing for Lidl's label, must that supplier pick up the costs of design, packaging and origination early on in the process?

In Bord Bia's offices last week, one of Lidl's international competitors was running for the second year an excellent programme in educating what I call young suppliers. These are smaller suppliers that perhaps can become bigger suppliers and can become exporters. It involves educating them in relationships and supply chain matters, really welcoming them into one's family, getting to know them and giving them confidence. I acknowledge so doing involves a bit of one's time and investment but I wonder whether Lidl would consider entering such a programme? There are some very good potential suppliers but to be honest, they have not got a clue and need a bit of education. Consequently, would Lidl consider entering into such activity?

For the information of other members, I visited Hamburg three weeks ago with a very high-end supplier in the airline industry and it has just entered into a huge supplier relationship with Lidl. While it would never have dreamt of entering such a relationship, it is from where Lidl has come. Lidl is big and is here to stay.

I am making statements as well as asking questions. I am merely trying to get a robust discussion going.

On the horsemeat issue, I am aware that better value is what the customer wants, which is why we all are shopping at Lidl. I hate the word "cheap", but, as one of the Deputies stated, those famous burgers were probably sold by the supplier to Tesco for 8 cent, 9 cent or 10 cent. Consumers cannot push the supermarkets any further. Lidl should make a stand and get together with the other retailers to set a decent price for milk in order that even smaller farmers can survive. They should agree a price among themselves. It cannot be reduced further because retailers cannot squeeze suppliers any more. I am not criticising Lidl in this regard and this is not about the quality of food. We have come to a stage where we must hold the price of food because we cannot have horsemeat put in something that is supposed to be beef. I understand it was not all a matter of money and that there was fraudulent practice, but it all comes down to the exertion of pressure at the end of the day. I would be interested to hear what Lidl has to state about this. We all want to see footfall. The retailer wants to have the cheapest milk in order that he or she can entice in the consumer, but it must stop somewhere in order that we can achieve a balance. Returning to the big word of the day, "sustainability" is for everybody. It is for the consumer, the supplier and the retailer because everybody must make a little.