Mr. Robert Malone:

Fundamentally, we have to look at what the aim of the new office is. It is to level the playing pitch, bring more power back from the top of the food chain, including the retailers and the food service buyers, to the primary producers. I believe the board as proposed is too small. However, it is about what is in the legislation and to have enough powers to open up the food chain and see where the value is going and put power back in the position of the farmers. One of the big asks we have is the ban on below-cost procurement of food. That is a big issue. The cost of producing that food has to be taken into consideration, whether it is a head of broccoli, a kilo of beef or a litre of milk, and retailers should not be able to purchase that at below the cost of production. That will mean the primary producer is more sustainable. We have asked for a ban on below-cost selling but the consumer needs to get value as well. We are all for that. It is very important. We need the consumer with us in all this.

Earlier this year Teagasc produced costings for the production different field vegetables. They went up by various margins of between 15% and 25%. Not one grower was offered that as an increase from whoever they were dealing with, whether it is a middle person or a retailer. They had to fight their best to get close to it but they should not have to fight to stay in business and remain viable. As part of this legislation in terms of fairness and transparency, they should be able to outline the cost of production and the margin they need to stay viable. It is not a margin to get rich but a margin to keep producing food and not rely on imports from somewhere outside of Ireland. We can do all of this here. That is what it has to be about. We need more representation for primary producers with two or three people in dedicated seats on the board for primary production. Boards such as Bord Bia's have similar set-ups to this proposed new office and they are models we should look at for a board. It is important that the subcommittees, possibly like Bord Bia, represent different sectors. Vulnerable sectors are on life support such as the horticulture, pig and poultry sectors and any sector that is reliant on retail to sell its produce. It is not the world market. They are the sectors that suffered most this year when inputs rose. They could not get the increases out from the retailer. We need subcommittees set up specifically for those to investigate and have powers in order that they can ask authorised officers of this new office to find out where the value is, make it transparent that there are people who are not getting paid the cost of production, and be transparent and publicise that.