Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I hope the Minister will accept that, to date, his response to this matter has been minimal. If he does not accept that, I would be apprehensive about the authority that is coming down the line. I want the new authority to work. I want it to have powers of enforcement that go beyond the current section within the Department which, being frank, has received no complaints since it was established. That establishment happened on the basis of a statutory instrument that transposed the European directive verbatim without any additional roles or acts by processors or retailers being made illegal. The Minister said he plans to move to the next stage shortly. What does "shortly" mean? Can we expect publication within the next fortnight, for example? How willing is the Minister to engage with the Opposition and farm organisations to ensure the new authority has the teeth the section in the Department does not?

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