Ms Rowena Dwyer:

There were some questions about our position on retail proposals and regulating the sector. As everyone here knows, there are two issues regarding retail regulation the domestic and the EU pictures. The EU picture has a greater impact because of the amount of produce exported throughout the EU.

Our position is very clear. As Members know regulations have been brought in at domestic level to ensure there are contracts between suppliers and retailers, that these contracts are transparent and have fair terms of trade attached to them. Initially, we are saying these contracts have just been brought in. The Competition Commission has been charged with enforcing them. We need to see the Commission being active so as to ensure the types of practices that we all know went on in the past, such as pay for play and pay for shelf positioning and other very unfair terms of practice, will not be allowed to be continued. We would like to see the regulations strengthened further. We have clearly outlined there needs to be an independent ombudsman and the whole issue of below-cost selling needs to be looked at again. Below-invoice selling is still happening. It is as simple as fresh produce being used as a loss leader by retailers to bring in customers and that impacts in the long run on the price the supplier or the producer receives. Up until now, there has been a reluctance at EU level to talk about anything other than voluntary codes of conduct. We, together with other farming organisations in Europe, are very clear that this is insufficient and there must be an EU regulation to try to make the market more transparent. The prices that are received at each level along the supply chain are completely masked at present or are not transparent enough and we need to make that clearer. That will strengthen the bargaining position of suppliers.

Our position at present is about shining light on the various links in the supply chain to ensure that suppliers have a better position in which to bargain to try to get a fair price and return on their produce.

Senator Mac Lochlainn raised the issue of the minimum wage. It is a fair question. The minimum wage is a figure that sets and determines other wages as well. An increase in the minimum wage clearly or bluntly has an impact on increasing labour costs. That is an increase in employment costs, whether it is the direct wage increase but it impacts on other costs, such as PRSI and so on. It is not ideological but a position based on practicality that the costs of employment cannot and should not be increased at this point. The witnesses who have contributed have highlighted the severe pressure the industry is under and therefore it is very much a proposal or statement based on the very difficult position in which the industry finds itself. Instead of being an entrenched ideological position, the position is that an increase in wages is an increase in the employment costs and could jeopardise employment numbers. Unfortunately, the position is as simple as that.