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

The purpose of the provisions in the Bill relating to the grocery goods sector, and the regulations which I will make in due course on foot of those enabling provisions, is to regulate certain practices in the sector. On the issue of payment, subsection 63B(2)(p) of the Consumer Protection Act 2007, as inserted by section 80 of this Bill, provides that the regulations may specify the manner and timeframe in which payment for grocery goods supplied to relevant grocery goods undertakings is to be made. This issue of the timeframe for payment should be considered in the context of any regulations rather than in primary legislation in order to allow for more flexibility, if required, in any statutory instrument.

Payments are also covered by prompt payment legislation, which must be factored into any regulations. Setting out a period of 30 days or any set period in primary legislation may be too rigid compared with the making of regulations. Thus, while the text of any regulation is not yet finalised or agreed, these amendments are neither required nor appropriate for this Bill.

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