Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and members. I appreciate the opportunity to be with the committee this evening as we begin the pre-legislative scrutiny on one of my key priorities, as well of as my Department and the Government. I thank the Chairman and all members for the time they are taking to do pre-legislative scrutiny, for the engagements members will have around this, for engaging with others and for responding with the committee's views and perspectives. I look forward to hearing the committee's thoughts on it and any ideas members have around the proposed legislation.

From the Department I am joined here today by Ms Angela Robinson, head of food industry development division; Mr. Noel Collins, head of the unfair trading practices enforcement authority; and Mr. John Kinsella, head of legal services division.

It is a great honour for me to present to the committee the general scheme of a Bill that will give effect to a key programme for Government commitment to ensure fairness, equity, and transparency in the food chain by establishing a new authority to enforce the unfair trading practices directive and to have a specific role in analysing and reporting on price and market data in Ireland. This Bill proposes to establish the new authority, which will be known as the office for fairness and transparency in the agrifood supply chain. The need for this legislation and this office has never been greater, as I am sure committee members will agree. The events of the last few months have shown just how fragile our supply chains are. Now more than ever we need a new independent office that will be a leading voice in promoting and, crucially, enforcing the principles of fairness and transparency in the agricultural and food supply chain.

The office will have real teeth and will help to protect our farm families and primary producers who are the bedrock of our rural communities. The general scheme of the Bill provides that the new office to be established will be able to do this in several ways. It will perform a price and market analysis and reporting function to bring greater transparency. It will provide regular reports on price and market information on all sectors in the agrifood supply chain, and these reports will be published. It will be able to commission reports on price and market information on the agrifood supply chain. The new office will also engage proactively with retailers, processors, wholesalers, farmers, fishers and others on matters affecting fairness and transparency in the agrifood supply chain. As the State’s designated unfair trading practices enforcement authority, the office will be responsible for ensuring that buyers in the agrifood supply chain do not employ unfair practices in their business-to-business relationship with their suppliers. The Bill provides wide-ranging powers for authorised officers to investigate unfair trading practices. In summary, this office will, in particular, be an advocate, an enforcer and an acolyte for farmers, for fishers and for other small food businesses, to improve their position and to bring greater transparency and fairness all along the supply chain.

As the committee is likely to be aware, the unfair trading practices enforcement authority is currently located and operating in my Department. To coincide with enactment or commencement of the Bill, I will repeal the current unfair trading practices, UTP, regulations that I signed in 2021 and I will use the enabling provisions in this Bill to make new regulations for unfair trading practices and for providing for the transfer of responsibility for UTP enforcement functions from my Department to the remit of the new office. I am not currently proposing any changes to the UTPs themselves at this time and the impact of the regulations will be reviewed on an ongoing basis in consultation with the new office. If I need to make any changes or amendments to the UTPs, the power is there to adjust these without having to amend the primary legislation.

The Bill provides that I may introduce a fee for complaints. The need for any such fee will be examined in due course. The Bill also provides for a levy to be imposed to assist in the costs of running the office. There is no immediate proposal to introduce a charge or levy at this time as this will depend on the costs of the office over time and the number of complaints received and investigations undertaken.

With regard to the structure of the office itself, the day-to-day running of the office will be overseen by a CEO, who will report to a board appointed by me, as Minister or by the Minister of the day. The board is to consist of a chairperson and five ordinary members, two of whom will be primary producers. It is envisaged that the appointment of board members will be through the State boards process.

I expect the recruitment process for the office's CEO to start very shortly.

I am acutely aware of the importance of ensuring that there is fairness in the agrifood supply chain for farmers, fishers and other food suppliers. This Bill and the establishment of the new authority is an important step towards achieving that goal. I am confident that as a result of this crucial work, we will see improved transparency and increased availability of information about the agrifood supply chain. Ultimately, this will be to the benefit of our farm families and primary producers. Primary legislation, by its nature, takes time and in this case the Bill is not only setting out new rules for business-to-business relationships but also establishing a new State authority to oversee and implement those rules.

Before drafting the heads of the Bill, committee members will recall that my Department held a public consultation between April and June 2021. A total of 28 submissions were made. Following on from the consultation, in June 2021 a webinar for stakeholders was held advising of the rules of the statutory instrument transposing the directive and of the results of the public consultation. Due to the importance of the establishment of this new office, since the Government’s approval in March 2022, my Department has continued to work with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in the Office of the Attorney General on the detailed drafting of the Bill. I sincerely thank the Attorney General for the resources of his office and for the attention of his staff in giving priority to this legislation.

I accept that the committee has not yet provided its observations on the Bill and I look forward to seeing them and observing the meetings the committee will have in that regard. I ask the committee to provide its observations to me as soon as possible to enable them to be considered and to allow for amendments to be made, where possible, in advance of presentation of the detailed draft Bill to the Houses of the Oireachtas. The sooner the office is set up the better for our rural communities and I urge us to work positively and constructively for the benefit of all our farm and fisher families.

I again thank the committee for the time and effort it puts in. I appreciate the committee's attention to this matter and the invitation to be here. I look forward to us all working collaboratively and collectively to deliver this crucial legislation and the subsequent office. I thank all committee members for their interest in this matter and I know we can deliver something meaningful that will stand the test of time for the long-term benefit of our farm families, fishers and all other primary producers. In a similar vein, I recognise the work of all my staff and the team that has already put so much effort into this legislation. I acknowledge the work of Ms Angela Robinson and Mr. Noel Collins, who is currently overseeing the unfair trading practices directive, and Mr. John Kinsella and his team, and indeed the broader team that has been involved in carrying out this work. I look forward to engaging with the committee.