Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 6 December 2023
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
An Rialálaí Agraibhia: Engagement with Chairperson Designate
Mr. Joe Healy:
We do not have the powers to put the world to rights but we do have quite a few powers. A great deal of work has gone into getting this as far as it has got. As I said in answer to the Deputy's first question, this goes way back. It really got momentum in 2016 when, for the first time ever, the commissioner set up an agrimarkets task force to look at the area. That is when the ball was really thrown in and started rolling. We worked hard on that to ensure momentum was created right the way through and that this was not allowed to become just another recommendation or report left on a shelf. That involved lobbying at many different levels. A great deal of work has gone into it. Different things were said to us along the way. We were told that, if X, Y or Z was included, it would not get through the Parliament, the Council or the Commission. Whether it is your own business or not, you work with the powers you have. There are a lot of powers there. We will work with them and see where they take us. If, at any stage along the line, we think there is a need for more powers, we can seek an increase in the powers of the board and the regulator from the Minister.