Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Again, the HSA has not suffered a cut, although it is being presented as a cut. It is actually the new revenue coming in from the Irish National Accreditation Board, INAB, but that is the way it is presented in the accounts. It is receiving €1 million in own-resource income and extra staff. It is receiving a non-pay allocation for its new responsibilities, but the revenue shows in the way it is presented as if it were a reduction. This is the way Estimates are presented. There is no diminution in its mandate. There is a new board which is very confident that it will fulfil its mandate. There was no criticism from the board. There were some individual members who expressed concerns, as is their right, but the board has been a singularly effective body in managing its resources and introducing risk-based assessment and BeSMART methods to promote compliance in an effective way.

The HSA has placed a big emphasis on farm safety, and I do not think it could be criticised in that respect. It has been at the National Ploughing Championships. It has taken many opportunities and has stepped up its inspections in this area. There is increased activity in farming, and messages have repeatedly been put out warning farmers about safe practices, particularly where children are involved. I believe the HSA is managing its resources very effectively and getting that message out. I know that it is about building a network across the entire community in farming and getting the safety message out there. Some people are not as attuned to the message. One of the things the HSA has tried to do is to use non-traditional resources to access people and get its message across.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has a statutory responsibility to uphold competition law. It cannot pick or choose those it will favour or not favour if there is a breach of the legislation, however popular or unpopular a group might be. It has to be fair in its application of the law. As the Deputy is aware, we will shortly publish the guidelines relating to the grocery trade and the commission will have a responsibility to ensure that the regulations are observed. They are statutory regulations and will be enforced with the full power of the commission, so the same strong armoury will be brought to bear on anyone who breaches those guidelines. There has been a general welcome for those in the committee. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is independent of any Minister of the day and that is how it should be. The commission does its job and that is the way we would want it.