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

I say with assurance that the Oireachtas committee on agriculture will, as I know from our discussions, be keen to scrutinise this Bill in an efficient way. Yet, it is very important that we do it in a robust way. The Minister will know that I was part of the discussions at a European level in relation to the unfair trading practices regulation. I was extremely disappointed with the concluding document. I felt that it was minimalist and that it allowed member states to take a minimalist approach. At the time of transposing the UTP directive via statutory instrument, the Minister took a minimalist approach. This legislation is an opportunity to make a real difference to primary producers, such as our family farmers, to ensure that they at long last get fair play in the food supply chain.

How does the Minister envisage this process? If a farmer has a complaint with the price they receive for their product within the factory, what ability will they have to make a complaint? More importantly, what power will the new enforcement authority have to pursue that complaint?

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