Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

It is competition that drives down prices and nothing else. Where there are monopoly suppliers, whether they are private or public, prices are always higher. Where we have introduced real competition, we have seen the benefit for consumers and I hope we can continue to introduce even more. However, one cannot control prices through legislation, which we all know. Moreover, in certain categories such as footwear, prices have fallen substantially in the past decade.

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