Results 821-840 of 1,995 for speaker:Joe Flaherty

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)

Joe Flaherty: I thank the farm organisations for coming in. I agree with the IFA that there needs to be a focus on the five main retailers and the three main food service providers from the outset. Small start-up retailers, for example, should not be inhibited or fear this. It should be seen as a red flag for those five big retailers that a vehicle is coming in that will endeavour to police what they...

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)

Joe Flaherty: I know, but a board member will not get that either.

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)

Joe Flaherty: I refer to the UTPs, and the IFA minimum shelf space of 30% for branded food products. I am moving beyond the five main retailers. For example, for a smaller independent supermarket, do the witnesses not think that would be an imposition on them to provide that level of space? How would a “branded" good be defined?

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)

Joe Flaherty: Mr. Cullinan is suggesting the 30% makes up all branded products and the other 70% is for the multiples to fill in as they wish. Is that what he is saying?

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)

Joe Flaherty: Would Mr. Cullinan not see an issue that they would be forcing out smaller food producers from being the household’s automatic choice when it comes to what brand they will go with? Let us use, for example, a smaller, bespoke food producer. If the shelf space is minimised to 30%, does he not think some of those smaller food producers will be forced out?

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)

Joe Flaherty: Mr. McCormack said the level of fines enforceable by the office should be determined by the market position of the lawbreaker. Can he just expand on that?

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)

Joe Flaherty: No. On the market share, the retail sector at the minute does its own tracking and publishes its own market share statistics quarterly. Is that what Mr. McCormack would be looking at - tracking it against that?

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)

Joe Flaherty: I thank the Chair.

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)

Joe Flaherty: I have a question for Mr. McCormack and Mr. Enright first. The two-year Statute of Limitations is too short. The witnesses are working in a dynamic, fast-changing sector. There are multiple crises, such as Covid, the Beast from the East, and so on in any one year which can affect the sector. Why do the witnesses think that two years is too short?

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)

Joe Flaherty: In fairness, the farming sector is well represented. I would be shocked if any ICMSA members do not know of this, thanks to the witnesses' efforts.

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)

Joe Flaherty: We need this to be effective. There is no point bringing in a historical case that has to be investigated and may not have been meritorious, whereas if the case is honed, it can be looked at later. The two years are there for that reason. It deals with a matter within a window of opportunity for the new office to chase 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)

Joe Flaherty: I know the IFA has the best of intentions, but the additional UTPs are probably aspirational to some extent. One would not see a situation in which there would be a ban on below-cost procurement and a ban on below-cost selling. The two of them could not sit together at the same time, realistically.

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)

Joe Flaherty: Would that not put a considerable burden on the consumer? That could be double jeopardy if we were to go with both of them.

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)

Joe Flaherty: The IFA representatives mentioned what has happened in Spain and minimum alcohol pricing. Is it fair to say that the IFA's primary concern about procurement costs, without disrespect to dairy or beef producers, is horticulture?

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)

Joe Flaherty: Would horticulture, to be palatable to the consumer, be the sector the witnesses could bat for?

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)

Joe Flaherty: Would it not be better to go with horticulture? Maybe, over time, it could evolve into other sectors. An appetite could be found for the horticulture sector, whereas it would be very unpalatable across sectors.

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)

Joe Flaherty: Mr. McCormack referred to the €250 fixed notice fine. Does he want that imposed pro ratain the context of market share? How does the fine work vis-á-vis market share?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Joe Flaherty: Based on what the witnesses have, in terms of lost production, would they have a figure for the economic value of milk that is lost?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Joe Flaherty: The bigger issue is banding. That seems to have a bigger impact than the reduction to the 220 kg, based on the analysis the witnesses have given, does it not?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Joe Flaherty: To expand on what Senator Daly said on the threat to other farm sectors, an obvious solution for the bigger and more intensive dairy farms will be to lease more land, probably the less arable land that might have been for forestry. Do the witnesses see that an obvious consequence of this will be to make it harder for the forestry sector because the land will not be there?