M J Nolan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important legislation for the retail business. I can remember a time not so long ago when every town and village had its own retail grocery shop. Some villages had two or three grocery shops. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case and we have seen the growth of the multiples and the large supermarket chains. In the past five years, there has been an invasion of shops like Aldi and Lidl from continental Europe. The number of these supermarkets will increase in the next five years, according to recent reports. These supermarkets cater for the needs of the public and, as legislators, we should bear in mind that we want to protect consumers as well. The best way to protect them is to ensure we have a strong and healthy indigenous retail grocery business. It is not in the interests of consumers, local communities or even suppliers to these supermarkets to allow dominant supermarket chains to take over the retail grocery sector.

We have a thriving grocery retail sector that provides competition, choice and value for customers. If we are not careful, that may not be the case for the future. As legislators we need to ensure that there is fair play for local shops and food manufacturers, Irish suppliers and farmers. Agriculture is going through a particularly difficult time. We must bear in mind that the strength and size of some of these retail grocery chains could wipe out a complete sector of Irish farming and agriculture if we are not careful.

In my constituency we have seen the demise of the sugar factory in Carlow. While that factory was closing down I observed imported sugar on the shelves of many supermarkets. It is unfortunate to see the demise of an industry that has stood the tests of time for almost 80 years. Now we must face not only that loss but the possibility that the country's entire sugar industry will be closed down in 2007, if not this year.

I am proud to support the vibrant local communities with locally owned shopping facilities that provide a route to the market for small manufacturers and suppliers and for Irish-grown and produced meat, dairy produce, fruit and vegetables. However, if we are not careful we will ensure that there will not be a market for these small producers. It is not in anybody's interest to see the continuous rise and expansion of multinationals at the expense of local small indigenous producers.

I have grave concerns that part of the legislation as worded will not deliver greater competition and protection for Irish producers and processors. Instead, it will give some of the largest retailers in the world the freedom to engage in predatory pricing and that is my main concern. I am not satisfied the legislation has closed all the loopholes. From what I have heard and read I am not confident, as yet, that companies will be barred from engaging in predatory pricing. Strong arm tactics can be introduced by companies which will eventually lead to the closure of small rural shops in particular. We have listened to many submissions on the Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business and have had many debates over the past year on this issue. The vast majority of the committee's members, if not all, are genuinely concerned about the impact of predatory pricing on small retailers. The Bill, if possible, should expressly ban predatory pricing.

I welcome the Minister's statement that he will look at this issue and return to it on Committee Stage. I assume Committee Stage will be debated by the Select Committee on Enterprise and Small Business where there will be a forum to engage in a more practical and effective manner with the Minister on this aspect of the Bill. I know the Minister is prepared to listen and take on board the concerns of many people, not just in the grocery sector, but in other areas of Irish industry and commercial life.

In a Fianna Fáil meeting recently we were circulated with an article from The Grocer magazine, which makes startling reading. It talks about the dominance of Tesco in the UK and the effect this monopoly has had on retailers there. Tesco currently has 25% of the Irish market. It is a market share that is growing as Tesco opens larger stores. It proposes to open another 30 in the next few years and that market share will certainly increase. There comes a stage when we must be concerned about the dominance of one player in the market. Unless we legislate to expressly ban predatory pricing, Irish consumers will have less choice, less competition and the market will mainly comprise multinational retail groups.

However, I commend Irish retailers, Dunnes Stores in particular, an Irish-owned company that can compete with anything the multinational retailers have thrown up. Likewise, SuperValu, part of the Cork-based Musgrave group, runs a very professional show to ensure that its shops around the country are as good as anything that may be seen on the international stage. Unless we expressly ban predatory pricing, then in the long-run Irish consumers will suffer, although it will not happen immediately. Smaller players require much more than the existing references in competition law. It is important to remember the number of small and medium-sized outlets that have closed in Ireland in recent years. Unless we introduce legislation to protect such traders against predatory pricing from the large multinationals, many more of them will close.

In the UK, it is interesting to note that more than 2,000 family-owned grocery shops closed last year, due to low-cost selling and multiples opening smaller stores. This information was contained in a report to an all-party committee at Westminister. Between 1997 and 2002 more than 50 independent food shops closed in the UK each week because of pressures from large multiples. There is an opportunity to ensure this does not happen here and it is important that is enshrined in the legislation. I welcome the legislation and the opportunity to debate with the Minister on Committee Stage any proposals he might have on copperfastening the ban on predatory pricing. As a small country with 4 million people and a relatively small retail market in the context of our European partners, we have a duty and responsibility to protect those small retailers and thus, the customers. If a small shop closes it will not re-open, let us not forget. If we reach a stage where the Tescos of this world put small concerns out of business we will not see any reversal of that trend in the future because they will not re-open. I commend the Minister for bringing forward the legislation and hope we can fine tune it on Committee Stage.

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