Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

I fail to see how our membership of the European Union has a bearing on this question. Will the Minister provide some direction as to when a statutory code of conduct will be put in place? When will this happen? We seek a specific time and date. Will the Minister not acknowledge there is a certain irony in the fact that the Minister of State sitting beside him, Deputy Cuffe, has referred to Terra Madre and the Slow Food movement, which comprises small organic producers who seek to find an export market? Meanwhile, in this country, the Government is capitulating to the Tescos and Asdas of this world which seek to gain a foothold here? Will the Minister confirm that he will do everything in his power to ensure that the retail planning guidelines will not be moved or shifted in any way to facilitate the "Tescoification" of the Irish grocery sector and to ensure that we can protect the primary producers to whom the Minister of State, Deputy Cuffe, referred such that we retain a good mix and not do not sell ourselves out to the large multiples?

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