Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A question has crossed my mind, and I will not touch on the area of agriproducers as the UK Groceries Code Adjudicator's role on them is well established and we have all come in here with that in mind. I am intrigued to know whether any Irish-specific issues cross Ms Tacon's desk. Where I am coming from is the nature of the island. A retailer's Irish branch may buy a product through a central distribution area in the South and the product may end up on a shelf in Northern Ireland, which is within Ms Tacon's jurisdiction. However, it was bought by the retailer outside the area of her jurisdiction. Has such a case ever crossed her desk?

My next question is probably as unanswerable as my question on primary producers. It is with regard to Brexit. If the UK remains in the EU how does Ms Tacon see the EU directive on unfair trading practices affecting her role or the code? Will one supersede, complement or supplement the other? If the UK leaves the EU, how structurally strong does Ms Tacon believe the code will be when Boris is chasing all over the world to track down food and do overnight trade deals? Will the code be strong enough to stand up in that scenario? We often hear about the race to the bottom which a lot of people predict may happen. Will the code be strong enough in such a scenario? I know it will depend on the outcome and nobody can answer that.