Mr. Tim Cullinan:

This is very relevant for producers who are dealing directly with retailers. We know what has happened in the past and what may happen in the future. That is why it is very important that there is an intermediary there, such as the farming organisations. There must be confidentiality around this as well. People are entitled to make a complaint if they are not being treated in a proper manner and there needs to be a system so they can get recognition for the problem they are experiencing. That is critically important in the Bill.

We had a discussion earlier about being able to go along the food supply chain to see where the margins are at. A lot of this would come from the beef task force. When Grant Thornton was commissioned to try to discover where the margin was in the beef industry, it found that very difficult. We have an opportunity now to ensure this legislation is right so we can see where the margin is at. There are certain groups of farmers in production relying on retailers in Ireland and we are going to lose more of them. That is a fact. We have seen it. The Deputy has seen it in the pig and poultry sector in recent times. He has seen the lengths farmers had to go to try to get a margin back for themselves. It was about survival. We had people outside retailers 24-7 for a number of weeks trying to get a margin back for their sectors. That is how serious this is. I want to stress the importance of this. When this Bill comes to the floor of the Dáil, we will look for the committee's support on this matter.