Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her reply. Most of us are aware of the fact that the problems in this are have grown in recent years. The move on the part of the Minister and the retail sector is definitely in the right direction but I wonder if there is scope for guidelines such as these to be made compulsory and put on a statutory footing to ensure that childrens' wear retailers prioritise the well being of children over the pursuit of profit.

I understand that Retail Ireland plans to put in place a mechanism to facilitate the reporting of concerns by parents and others through a central e-mail address and also plans to provide an annual progress report to the Minister's office. While this is an improvement on where we were, it does smack of self-certification. Given that most retail outlets are focused on their profit margin more than on any other priority, it would be good if we could monitor the situation independently rather than accept their word for it. I am not accusing them in advance of not being honest but the Minister understands that if we had independent certification and independent monitoring of how things are going, to ensure that best practice is being followed, that would be a good thing.

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