Results 5,721-5,740 of 10,862 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: If there are unfair trading practices, somebody has been treated unfairly. Senator Daly put it very well earlier. People found guilty of committing an offence pay a fine. The office can tick a box and save everyone from going to court. The only person who gets nothing is the person who had to pay to get the complaint considered in the first place. That person will be down money.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: That person has to go to court.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: That person cannot issue a fixed notice penalty.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: May I ask the Minister about the timeframe for the legislation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Matt Carthy: This is important legislation. I hope that, following these deliberations, the Minister will take some of our suggestions on board. I can see scope for a number of amendments that would strengthen the Bill. Is it the Minister's attention that an appropriate full-length Committee Stage will be offered so that every amendment can be considered?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (6 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: I have another question. I am conscious of time and that there are others who wish to speak. We could get called for a vote at any stage. Did the CCPC carry out an analysis of the prices that were being offered weekly by the various meat factories?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (6 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: Earlier Mr. Dillon quoted a reference to publicly available data.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (6 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: As Mr. Dillon sees it, that is with regard to data that is publicly available at present. He does not see new data being made publicly available for the use of or by the new body.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (6 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: Retail Ireland's submission is strong on seeking assurances that what it describes as market-sensitive data will not become available to the new body.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (6 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: Neither do I. It is one of the problems I have with it. Beef is something this committee discusses. There is the end where the farmer is selling the product, which is either at a mart or to a factory, by and large. The prices received by farmers are publicly available. When I go into my retailer and purchase the product the prices are publicly available. The difficulty is everywhere...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (6 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: Does Retail Ireland have a difficulty with this in respect of mince?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (6 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: Would Retail Ireland have an objection if there were transparency obligations in respect of meat cuts?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (6 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: For clarity, we are engaging with the Bill to see whether the committee might propose amendments to expand it. It is in this context I am asking the question. Beyond meat cuts, if we are speaking about fresh food products and having transparency along the supply chain, would Retail Ireland have a difficulty with it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: I thank our guests for joining us today. I do not know if they have been following the debates that we have had on the legislation to date. So much of what this committee and the Department do is locked into the CAP. This is one of the few areas in which the Government can bring measures through the House that will potentially make a substantive difference to the relationship of farmers...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: I am just conscious that we could get called for divisions so I will let others in. I will come back in if there is time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: I want to raise a couple of the technical aspects of the Bill. My first question relates to the language about who can make complaints. The IFA's submission suggested that language needs to be clearer. Do the organisations see a role for themselves in providing a service to members to make complaints? We have had quite a lot of debate about confidentiality for those making complaints....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: That is a good point that we might look at with regard to amendments. Dealing with the Government and Department, this is the best time to secure changes to legislation. They do not like to accept amendments from anybody else, since they would have to acknowledge it was someone else's idea. One can achieve anything if one lets someone else take the credit for it. We have to entice the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: To be fair to the Minister, if I recall correctly, he said that he did not believe there was any evidence to suggest the groceries order delivered on its stated objective. Has the IFA, as a farm organisation, noticed a deterioration in price levels since the order was lifted?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: Is that the agreed position of both organisations? It stands in direct contradiction of what the Minister indicated, which was that many farmers wanted to see the option of being able to continue with the grey list.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jul 2022)

Matt Carthy: Does the ICMSA share that view?