Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The amendments call for powers for me as Minister to issue directions to retailers not to sell grocery goods at a price that is less than the new invoice price of the goods. The restrictive practice grocery order 1987, SI 142/87, prohibited below invoice price selling of certain goods rather than banning below-cost selling of those goods. In effect, the order allowed wholesalers and suppliers to determine minimum retail prices being charged to consumers, thereby seriously constraining competition in the grocery trade.

Since the repeal of that order in 2006, there is no statutory basis for me, as Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, to make a minimum pricing order in any sector. The use of aggressive pricing strategies in any business is a legitimate marketing tool and the normal outcome of the competitive process. Low-cost and below-cost selling by a retailer is not in itself an offence, unless it involves an abuse of a dominant position. A determination on whether a retailer is abusing a dominant marketplace position would necessitate a comprehensive investigation by the Competition Authority, the independent statutory body responsible for enforcing competition law in the State. Complaints of an alleged anti-competitive practice should be referred to the authority.

I do not accept that there are grounds for the reintroduction of such a restrictive measure; therefore, I am not in a position to accept the proposed amendments. Deputy Dara Calleary gave alcohol as an example. However, as he indicated, the Department of Health is developing proposals in that area and it is doing so not as a matter of market operation but as a matter of public health policy. The nature of markets is such that one cannot ensure every business will thrive and receive a reasonable return for its effort. Businesses rise and fall and processes change and it is not the role of the State to set prices. Our role is to set fair rules within which competition can operate, which is what we are seeking to do. We are not seeking to fix a price for a particular product but to ensure that where an aggressive price strategy is pursued by a retailer, as is its entitlement, it is not done by abusing the supplier's contract terms. The Bill provides the correct balance between the various interests in the marketplace. For these reasons, I cannot accept the amendments brought forward by the Deputies.