Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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A number are offering loyalty spends, where if people spend €50, they get a €10 voucher. That is discriminatory against people who do not have transport because they cannot take €50 worth of food with them. Single-person households cannot avail of that because they are probably not spending in that area. If they can afford to give a €10 discount on a €50 spend, one can see where their margins are going. We need to have a new policy for the retail framework in this country. As someone mentioned earlier, we should have some legislation to try to incentivise the old co-operative movements to get back into action again because we do not have enough large-scale competition. There is almost predatory pricing activity in the supermarket multiples.

In order to get onto the planograms of any large supermarket chain, producers have to commit to marketing spending every quarter on top of what they pay. They take in their goods and it is a matter of sale or return. Whatever is not sold at the end of the month is given back to them and the supermarket takes a credit on the account for that. Those are just the terms. Producers will be forced into consumer buying behaviour and so on. Every three months, the supermarket will pitch producers against another competitor to try to get the best price. This all drives down the prices that primary producers are able to get. It is also killing small retailers who will generally, per capita, employ more people than the large supermarkets. We need to seriously look at trying to do something in legislation about large retail multiples, how and where they get planning permission in the future, and the density of them allowed in our towns.

Deputy Stanton brought up ports. Last year, Waterford Port handled €1.7 billion in bulk imports into this country. It is hugely important for the importation of large bulk into the State. It will soon look to Government for funding to try to extend a jetty there. I ask the Minister to please keep an eye on that and see if we can give them something. It is not major money but we are trying to increase activity and this is important to our competitive position in future.