Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Similar to my previous amendment, amendment No. 15 is about transparency in our food systems. The price the consumer pays in the shop is the result of a chain beginning with the primary producer. We need more structures to guarantee a fair and clear connection between what the consumer pays and what the producer receives. The shorter the supply chain, the easier it will be for the producer to benefit. Farmers' markets are the obvious example where the consumer directly engages with the producer. The more steps added to this process, the less clear it is who is profiting and by how much.

The type of information specified in amendment No. 15 is needed to understand how our food systems operate. I call for the new office to be able to access any data that impact on the price and margins in the supply chain such as prices paid and received throughout agricultural produce and margins. This will help show the pressures farmers, fishers and small-scale producers are under, while helping us appreciate the logistical, transport and other costs involved in bringing food to our tables. With food prices rightly in the headlines this week and being discussed numerous times in this House, the need for greater transparency is more and more relevant. Producers, family grocers and consumers are suffering under the current system.

This approach will also highlight the inequalities in our food system. If we are honest, some primary producers are doing very well and should be classified as large businesses, while small retailers are being squeezed by high operational costs. We need a regulatory system that can investigate this complex area and provide the public and the Government with the information necessary to understand the supply chain.

I cannot see an argument against ensuring the new office has access to as much information as possible. I disagree with the Government's light-touch regulation model. I have argued for this to be a proper regulator, that is, a fully independent office with capacity to develop and implement regulations without restriction, as well as commensurate powers to investigate potential violations and implement the law. The Government has chosen to go down a lesser path, so all I can ask is that the office be enabled to access as much information as possible to inform its understanding and analysis of the sector.

Amendment No. 14, tabled by Deputies Kerrane and Browne, sets out to achieve the same objectives as my amendment No. 15. In addition, the Minister, who, in fairness, has engaged with the concerns of the sector, has proposed his own amendments to amendment No. 14. For the most part, I am happy he has understood the issues raised on the earlier Stage and made those changes. Accordingly, while his amendments are not as robust and far reaching as I would like, I will not move my amendment.

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