Results 5,361-5,380 of 10,791 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: I will speak to Part 1. I thank the Minister and his officials for being here and presenting the heads of the Bill. I too look forward to pre-legislative scrutiny. To follow on from the Minister's point, I hope and trust he will engage with us constructively on ways in which we can strengthen the Bill. I understand the Minister's sentiments when he says he wants to get this 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: Are we up to head 5?

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: I have a question on head 7, the establishment of the office for fairness and transparency in the agrifood supply chain, and the process that led to this proposal. The programme for Government provided for the establishment of a food ombudsman. When the matter went out for public consultation, there was reference to a food ombudsman and a food regulator. From where did the title for the...

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: I have a question that follows on from our previous discussion on the name, which I still do not fully understand. I mean that rather than having an ombudsman or a regulator it appears that we have neither. Heads 8 and 9 deal with the functions of the new office. One of the reasons, which has been mentioned at every farmers' meeting over the past decade which any of us has attended,...

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: Let us say a farmer or an individual reports to the new office for fairness and transparency, and shows that on a given day 15 separate factories offered prices for beef that were within 1% of each other. What would the office do with that information? How would it identify whether the activity is price fixing on a grand scale or, as I have called it, cartel-like behaviour? What impact and...

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: Yes.

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 is why I have asked about the new body.

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: What will the office examine?

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: The Minister has mentioned world markets and of course they dictate prices. Understandably, the price of timber has fluctuated greatly in the past year and that situation is reflected in the price we will pay in any hardware shortage. Timber is dearer now than it was this time last year. If every timber or hardware store sold the same piece of timber at a price within 1% of the other, and...

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: I shall move on because we are going around in circles when discussing this point. Everybody says, "if there is evidence of price fixing". I want to know whose job it is to find that evidence because the CCPC has told individual farmers that it is their job to provide the CCPC with evidence before the CCPC will even go and ask the meat processors for their opinion on the matter, never mind...

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: I specifically mean the ten practices classified as black. , Deputy Charlie McConalogue:Yes, specifically relating to unfair trading practices.

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: The current enforcement authority requests annual implementation reports from some of the large buyers of agricultural and food products, which are asked to describe the measures that are being taken to ensure compliance. Will the new body request the reports?

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: Head 9(1)(c) says, "collect, analyse and report on publicly available price and market data in the agricultural and food supply chain". I note from a number of submissions that there is a concern about the wording "publicly available" because it might hinder the performance of the function. I mean if it is only "publicly available" information then the provision could create issues...

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: Would it not be equally appropriate and less restrictive if the wording referred to collection, analysis and reporting of all price and market data that comes into its possession?

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: I see all of that, I am just asking specifically in Head 9(1)(c).

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: Finally on this section, a number of submissions we received were questioning whether the definition of agriculture and food products specifically covers agricultural feed. Can the Minister confirm that is the case?

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: Can I ask a question on Head 10? Some colleagues already asked whether five members are sufficient for the board. In respect of the Data Protection Commission and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission there is provision in legislation for the appointment of additional members if workloads increase. I am wondering why such a provision is not embedded in this Bill and whether the...

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: A quorum would be three which is a very small number of people to be deliberating on such important matters.

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: Who would appoint that board though?

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: In respect of the chair, would the Minister consider for such an important role that it would be appropriate to get Oireachtas approval of the nominee?