Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their contributions. Deputy Deering and Deputy Barry have raised most of my points so I will be brief. I have spoken confidentially to a few small suppliers. I am a supplier and I employ 110 people. I know how difficult it is for suppliers. I have a lot of friends in the food industry because I have been in business for 21 years. Some of the people I spoke to confidentially said that listing fees are still in operation but the language has changed. Humans are very creative and it is no longer called "hello money" or a listing fee. Deputy Barry referred to pot-holing but I have not come across that myself although I have been asked for it by English multiples as recently as last year. When their accounts do not meet their shareholders' requirements at the end of the year they ask their suppliers for contributions. However, I have never been asked for that by an Irish company. Who has the money to take a full page advertisement in the Sunday newspapers? I wonder who pays for those adverts. One of the suppliers to whom I spoke had been told that if their product was to be promoted it would be put on a lovely coloured page in the Sunday Independent and there would be a cost. This is the practice.

Has the Competition Authority considered having a focus group, an internal bunker focus group of 20 to 40 small suppliers? They could feed information to the authority in greater detail than the committee can provide. The issue of horsemeat has been well covered. No supplier wants to be driven down to that level. Another issue which must be faced is the advertisement of low-cost alcohol. I have a 19 year old son so I know all about it. I do not drink beer or cider as I prefer wine but I am surprised at the cheap prices of those drinks. The word, "footfall" is a favourite of the multiples. Cheap beer or a tin of sweets - Roses, I think - at Christmas are regarded as footfallers; they are designed to get the consumers to walk in the door of the supermarket and they are then captive. I had an audit last week which was carried out by an Australian retailer. It is easy for me because my business is 80% export. The practices are the same all over the world. They looked at my books and studied the percentage taken by each customer. I have an open book costing system so they can see my suppliers. As a Deputy said, the one-way street is unfair. I am a very small player with just a few random comments.