Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I do not agree with Mr. O'Leary, for example, with regard to carrots being sold as a loss leader for 9 cent a bag. I was on Facebook during the week and I saw a video of a company that is located just five miles from my own home. It showed how a field of carrots was being harvested. Obviously, the carrots had to be sold by the primary producer but the video showed how the carrots were harvested, graded and washed, and how they went from the field to the shop within 24 hours. This gives the wrong perception. If a person goes into a shop coming up to Christmas, they might buy six, seven or eight bags of carrots only to dump them afterwards. While this may not be under the remit of the CCPC, it certainly needs to be under somebody's remit. It must be soul destroying for a farmer, given all the work that goes into making sure the crop is successful, is harvested and is top quality, to see it being sold at 9 cent a bag, with a lot of it being wasted afterwards. I would agree with Deputy Pat Deering on that. Everybody wants value for money and we all love a bargain. However, the CCPC should certainly look at this issue of products being given away.