Mr. Joe Healy:

I thank the Deputy for her question. She is correct in saying that this office has been a long time in the making. We can go back to 2016 when the then EU Commissioner, Mr. Hogan, set up the agri-markets task force. That was the result of a lot of lobbying to get an office like this in place and it has worked on from there, through the European institutions of the Commission, the Parliament and the Council, as well as the Houses of the Oireachtas. One of the key aspirations and workings for the group will be to ensure greater fairness and transparency. We mentioned that earlier because a key role for the board, the CEO and the staff is to provide as much transparency as possible for the marketplace.

As I keep saying, it is important to note we are an independent board. We are there to represent all sectors and to represent the three areas of the food supply chain to ensure everyone is treated fairly and there is a future for every individual and group involved in each sector. We assimilate all of the information we can put our hands on and make sure it is out there. Since Ms Lenehan took up her job, she has done a lot of work in meeting the retailers. She has met them all at this stage and has assembled a lot of information.

Going back to Senator Lombard's point regarding the work plan, it is about building respect and trust among the different links in the supply chain so they see us as fair and feel we are there for all the right reasons, that is, to increase fairness in the food chain. That will be one of our key areas. There are a lot of sources of information now and not all are accurate. The only way we can gain the respect we need to be successful is to ensure whatever information we put out is accurate.