Noel O'Flynn (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Deputies Ned O'Keeffe, Glennon, Fiona O'Malley and Carey.

I welcome Deputy Kehoe back to the Chamber following a long period of illness. Having travelled with him on an important fact-finding mission to Australia two years ago, I hope to welcome him back to the Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and travel with him again when he leaves his current position of Whip.

I support the abolition of the groceries order of 1987. While it played an important role at the time, it no longer meets the needs of the market and does not protect consumers in a market which has changed considerably in the past 20 years. Below cost selling, boycotting and 'hello' money were banned by the groceries order. Having resulted in 12 prosecutions over an 18-year period, Deputies can judge for themselves whether the order was effective.

The groceries order was introduced at a time when national, as opposed to multinational, supermarket chains were fighting a fierce battle for customer and market share and using predatory pricing and below cost selling to put the weakest of their number out of business. Some Deputies will recall that the H. Williams supermarket group did not survive but it is also important to note that no multinational retailers operated here at the time.

I agree with the consumer strategy group's conclusion that consumers pay too much for goods covered by the groceries order, particularly given that comparisons of prices here and in mainland Europe showed that goods were 30% cheaper in Spain and Portugal. It troubles me most that prices charged for groceries in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom on the one hand and the Republic on the other, differ by approximately 30%, particularly given that the goods and services in question are supplied on both parts of the island by the same multinational retailers. Why does the price of a shopping basket of goods differ between the two parts of the island? I hope the Competition Authority will take meaningful action to determine how the retailers in question can have two sets of prices in one market. I am convinced the prices charged by the multinationals in this part of the country are artificially high and consumers are not getting a fair deal.

Bread, milk, perishable goods, fresh meat, fruit and fresh fish were not covered by the grocery order. If shoppers are to make savings of €500 per annum as a result of the abolition of the groceries order, as has been indicated, let prices come down.

I welcome competition in the market, particularly the arrival of continental supermarket groups which are gaining market share, supplying goods at reasonable prices and employing thousands of people.

The Competition Authority is held in high regard throughout Europe. I welcome the decision of my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, to introduce legislation in this regard. It will have my support as it will provide protection for consumers and result in greater competition.

Different types of shopping are available. Consumers can use discounters, large supermarkets, convenience stores or supermarkets using franchised names such as SuperValu, Centra and Londis, which provide excellent service and quality goods in towns and villages throughout Ireland. Convenience retailers, such as shops attached to filling stations, are also widespread. People know when they enter these stores that they will pay more and can go to a larger market if they want cheaper prices.

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