Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 16 July 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Groceries Sector: Discussion with the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency

3:35 pm

Photo of Susan O'KeeffeSusan O'Keeffe (Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The National Consumer Agency referred to a compliance blitz. Ms Goggin said that in 2012 the Competition Authority carried out visits to 349 traders. I wanted to clarify if this was done on the authority's own activation. Was the Competition Authority concentrating on one sort of trader as against another? Why were 349 traders visited? Is the authority being pushed to the pin of its collar with 349 such cases or would it like to do more?

Ms Goggin also talked about the grocery price surveys between 2007 and 2011 and the high level of price matching. I wonder what the situation is now. Is the Competition Authority not in a position to carry out that work and, if so, is it an issue of resources? Some of what we are hearing does not concern resources but, as Ms Goggin said, it rather concerns the legislation's limitations. Some of this might be to do with resources, although I am not sure. This is her chance to say if that is so.