Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have a question that follows on from our previous discussion on the name, which I still do not fully understand. I mean that rather than having an ombudsman or a regulator it appears that we have neither.

Heads 8 and 9 deal with the functions of the new office. One of the reasons, which has been mentioned at every farmers' meeting over the past decade which any of us has attended, given for the need to have an office is that we need somebody to be able to take complaints of cartel-like behaviours by processors or retailers and investigate them. Clearly, the CCPC is not up to that task. The CCPC received complaints but never approached the processors and told those who made the complaints that unless they could actually provide the evidence then the CCPC could not do anything. Will the new body be in a position to accept and investigate complaints of cartel-like behaviour by meat factories?