Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Mr. Bryan for his presentation. As he said, we have heard it all before. There is no point in saying otherwise. It is an indictment of the political system that has failed to deal with the issue. I concur with Deputy Ó Cuív’s point that legislation will be forthcoming. I hope it will satisfy the necessary requirements. The big issue for everyone now is the state of the farming sector, in particular in the past 18 months. Each and every electoral representative has been trying to highlight the situation on fodder and how it has made matters much worse than was the case. The producer on the ground is the one who is suffering most. He or she is also the victim of increased costs in oil, diesel and feedstuffs.

The loopholes in labelling were raised by Mr. Bryan. If ever the issue was brought home to retailers, consumers and producers it was in the recent debacle with horsemeat and the lack of traceability. A lack of a proper labelling system was evident. Various ingredients from different jurisdictions have done enormous damage to the industry. In fairness, the Government dealt with the matter swiftly. Does Mr. Bryan concur with the view that all ingredients used as fillers should be clearly labelled, including country of origin?

I raise the cartels within that sector. The people who are at a loss because of those are the producers and the people on the ground, so to speak.

Mr. Bryan raised the issue of an independent supermarket ombudsman. Will he elaborate on that? It is a very good idea. People are crying out for such an office, and it can only benefit the sector as well as the consumer.

Mr. Bryan stated also that the United Kingdom legislation is far more advanced than ours and he called on our Government to follow the UK lead and regulate retailers by introducing similar strong legislation and enforcement powers. Will he outline the enforcement powers he envisages? Enforcement powers will be needed if this is to work properly.

We have done all of this previously. The welcome aspect is that the Taoiseach promised on the floor of the House that the legislation is forthcoming. It is up to us, as elected representatives, to keep up the pressure to ensure that happens, and my party will not be found wanting in that regard.