Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

We have a competition authority, which deals with competition concerns that are frequently raised in the context of this sector. There is also an unfair trading practices directive, which lists practices in the context of the supply chain that are deemed unfair. Currently, the Department is establishing a statutory instrument to implement that directive. As part of that, it will establish an authority for overseeing the unfair trading practices directive.

When that is done we will open public consultation to meet the programme for Government requirement to establish a national food ombudsman. The public consultation will determine what additional functions people feel should be attributed to a regulator in this area. To implement that aspect, we will need primary legislation. The order of events is that there will be a statutory instrument to implement the unfair trading practices directive, we will establish an authority to oversee that statutory instrument, we will do a public consultation and then primary legislation will add to the functions of the authority and establish a national food regulator.