Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The Government welcomes the report of the consumer strategy group which was published on 18 May 2005. The report contains over 30 separate recommendations involving a variety of Departments and agencies. The Government accepts the core recommendation in the CSG report and has approved, in principle, the establishment of a new national consumer agency.

The Government intends to ensure that the new agency is up and running as soon as possible and to that end my Department has commenced the necessary legislative and organisational work to establish the NCA. In the interim, I am appointing a board to the new agency, which will act in an interim capacity until the NCA is established on a statutory footing. The interim board will immediately begin planning for the final structure and organisation of the fully-fledged national consumer agency.

As regards the other recommendations contained in the CSG report, the Government has agreed to establish a high level interdepartmental committee to examine the recommendations and to report back with a detailed implementation plan within three months.

One of the group's recommendations — the proposal that the groceries order be abolished entirely — has, not unexpectedly attracted a significant amount of interest. This is an important recommendation both for business and consumer interests. The issues to which the groceries order give rise are complex. The CSG report, while coming down in favour of the revocation of the groceries order in its entirety, also recognises that there is well-founded argumentation on both sides of the debate.

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