Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Where do we start? I noted the Minister's comments about predatory pricing and retention of title, which he read from the memorandum, but when it came to protecting the big beast he was quite passionate about it.

I do not know if the Minister really understands what is happening with small producers. On "Planet Richard" all is lovely and everybody gets on well together. It is all fine, with suppliers being nice to producers. They all arrange a price and everyone is happy. In the real world, however, the supplier is a multinational or a major Irish company that goes to the producers - many of whom are in the Minister's own constituency - and tells them, "This is what we want and this is the price you are getting. In addition to that price, we want more money for shelf space. We want you to supply us and you might have to come in and lay out the stock. We basically want you lock, stock and barrel, and give us your children while you're at it." Is that all find and happy? That may be the kind of relationship the Minister wants, but it is not the kind of country I want. It is not the kind of business relationship that is healthy.

The Minister says that our amendment could stop competition but the current relationship is blocking competition.

Big producers will be able to sustain that way of doing business but the small guy will not be able to disrupt the market, to use the Minister's phrase, in this kind of relationship. That is the reality. The Minister is a farmer's son and a former agricultural economist. He knows it is not possible to produce a cabbage for 5 cent. He appears to think those who produce the cabbages are able to tell the supermarkets the price at which they will sell their produce but they are told what they are going to get. Producers are being driven out of the market and consumer choice is being restricted.

I do not know if the Minister attended the reception organised by the IFA and Good Food Ireland last night for small producers from all over the country. The colleagues of the Minister who attended the reception, and who will troop into the House to vote in support of his version of events, told all the small producers they were super. Now that they have a chance to protect these producers, however, I suspect they will not take it.

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