Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not know whether Deputy Mathews has read the amendment he is supporting. He supports the notion that companies like Kellogg's, Nestle or Procter and Gamble could set out on their invoices the price at which their products must be sold. These companies would be able to decide what consumers must pay for their grocery goods. The amendment provides that the Minister shall give a direction that a retailer shall not sell grocery goods at a price that is less than the net invoice amount of the goods. That is bizarre economics. We cannot hand over the authority to fix the price at which goods are sold to any such company. This is the amendment the Deputies are sponsoring. It is an attempt to revert to a situation in which suppliers decide the price at which their goods should be sold. That is a well known breach of competition known as resale price maintenance. If it was done under collusive arrangements the Competition Authority would pursue those involved. The Deputies propose to make it the law of the land that every seller to a retail chain can set its own price, and the retailer cannot do anything about it. That is not competition or a marketplace.

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