Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

——that protected certain elements in the trade from having to face up to competition. It did not protect the small, independent grocers, who were squeezed out of business by the practices encouraged and legitimised by the order. Deputy Morgan described the groceries order as a ban on below-cost selling. Even the most ardent supporters of the order admit that it was not a ban on below cost selling. Deputy Morgan should have read the Department's report on this issue before debating the order.

The Deputy also referred to planning laws and while it is not in our area of responsibility, I want to dispel the notion that the groceries order prevented the opening of large hypermarkets. It had nothing to do with this issue and suggestions to the contrary cloud the debate. While our planning laws must be framed in a sensible, reasonable way that allows proper, sustainable retail development that encourages fair competition, I do not want to see planning laws used to protect existing business from the introduction of the type of competition that would facilitate easier access to cheaper, healthier food, particularly for the less well-off.

I return to what some Deputies have referred to as the core issue in this debate, the prohibition of predatory pricing. We have been told that existing laws are not strong enough. This is not entitled the Competition (Amendment) Bill for nothing. When enacted it will be part of competition law. Such law is only concerned with low prices on two conditions, namely, when prices are so low as to have no economic justification and when the firm in question has sufficient market power to be able to use such uneconomic prices to put other firms out of business. When prices meet those conditions, they are considered to be predatory and such conduct is already prohibited by the Competition Act 2002. Opposition Deputies have advocated a law that prohibits predatory pricing by non-dominant firms. They want a law that prohibits all low prices regardless of whether such prices are part of an attempt to put somebody out of business. Such a prohibition has no place in competition law and this Bill. When we tried to operate such a law in the past, it did not work. It was called the groceries order.

Deputies have spoken on rip-off Ireland and the high cost of groceries here compared with the rest of Europe and have bemoaned the lack of competition in the market, but when the chance comes to do something about it and take the bold step——

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