Fiona O'Malley (Dún Laoghaire, Progressive Democrats)

This Bill represents what is good about the Legislature. A problem existed, it needed fixing, legislation was drafted and we are now enacting it. If only all legislation were dealt with as quickly, we would all have a greater sense of job satisfaction.

Competition, the groceries order and reforming legislation are all topics which allow political parties to demonstrate their commitment to promoting the consumer interest. The view of the Progressive Democrats is that the groceries order has failed in its primary function of preventing consolidation in the grocery sector and protecting a vibrant independent sector. We also recognise that the order contributed to higher price inflation and, ultimately, increased the burden on consumers. Therefore we called for its abolition.

The parties opposite have unfortunately struggled in this policy area. Fine Gael stated, astonishingly, that the groceries order illustrated the Government's complete inability to tackle vested interests and its complete antipathy to consumers. I again remind Fine Gael of its record. In May 1996, when the party was last in Government, it sought derogations from EU law to protect a State monopoly at the expense of consumers. The party attempted to protect Telecom Éireann's monopoly for an extra two years. More recently, the groceries order became an embarrassing issue for Fine Gael. We have more of this today in the party demonstrating its paralysis in making a decision.

Although it risks becoming a mantra — but like many a mantra it is true — the Labour Party is certainly no friend of the consumer. Its rusty statist economic policies are a sure way of repressing competition and harming consumers. Indeed, the classic competition success story, the aviation sector, is one that particularly upsets the Labour Party. The approach of the Progressive Democrats is different.

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