Martin Brady (Dublin North East, Fianna Fail)

I agree with him on some issues and he speaks a lot of sense. I welcome the modification of the competition law. There is now an onus on the Competition Authority to prevent predatory or abusive behaviour in the retail grocery trade. In my constituency of Dublin North-East, there are 26 shops belonging to RGDATA. We did numerous surveys in Dublin and other parts of the country. I was in Athlone one evening and I went into a Costcutters shop in Connaught Street and there were two jars of coffee that were cheaper than coffee on special offer in a larger store. As Deputy Ring pointed out, the customers are being conned and consumers are being cajoled into these large stores. They often spend half an hour queueing to buy three or four items and some of these people are elderly and living on their own.

It is very important to protect small businesses and to ensure that there is a level playing pitch. If small businesses in rural areas are put out of business, the people in those areas may have to travel two or three miles to the big store. This may be impossible for some elderly people who then become isolated. There is a social aspect to it as well. Many small shops in villages in Great Britain have been wiped out completely and even the villages have been wiped out. People must travel five to ten miles away from the village to purchase goods.

Businesses such as bakeries and so on were put out of business not so long ago because the people were treated like slaves. The person delivering bread to a large store today must stock the shelves because suppliers are treated like slaves. That does not happen in the small central store, which is very important to the local community. Having said that, I welcome the decision by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to strengthen the Act to ban predatory and abusive behaviour. I have long contended that the Competition Act 2002 was deficient in dealing with anti-competitive behaviour in the grocery sector. I lobbied the Minister to ensure that any repeal of the groceries order is matched by a strengthening of the Competition Act. We are pleased that he has responded.

It is good to listen to the Opposition, especially Deputy Ring. He gives me a little spurt now and then that revitalises me in a certain way. Sometimes he is better than a tonic. He makes sense because he is a rural TD and he knows what is going on. Many of these large stores have buyers that are travelling to Korea and other countries where there is slave labour, with children of 12 to 14 years of age sleeping on the job, not being properly paid nor properly fed and who are abused in every sense imaginable. The consumer should be made aware of what these stores are engaged in. I believe that the consumer should be given a choice on price, but price is not always the biggest issue. Sometimes consumers change their minds when made aware of where the goods come from. We do not support goods on the shelves that have arrived as a result of slave labour and the abuse of young children. As a former trade union official, I would never condone that.

The groceries order was brought in as a temporary measure in 1987, but it has survived numerous reviews and assessments. It has been a positive policy instrument and has attracted widespread support from many organisations and individuals. Deputy Ring said that everyone will be put out of business, but I doubt Deputy Ring will be put out of business. The order has left a positive legacy because it has given us an opportunity for debate. I hope that we support the small player in this business. Since the Lemass era, Fianna Fáil has always supported the small businessman or woman. Such people represent the backbone of this country and if we lose sight of them, we will pay the price, both economically and otherwise.

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