Results 5,401-5,420 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: -----or given to the person the complaint is being made against, unless there was a good reason for the office to do that. It would strengthen that position. My question was about whether we could look at that. This issue comes on the back of a submission from the Irish Farmers' Association. Head 38(9) states, "Where the Office considers that there are insufficient grounds for acting on a...

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: As it is currently worded, it states that the complainant should be informed. A farm organisation has requested the inclusion of the words "in writing". Can that be considered?

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 presume there is a particular reason tat a farm organisation has raised that. It arises on the back of its experience.

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 couple of points have been raised already. There was quite a bit of discussion of the groceries order. Up until the last 12 months of the life of that order, there were few complaints about it. It was driven by a high-profile campaign and the Minister at the time abolished it. Members may recall hearing me say on numerous occasions that I was so disappointed with this regulation at a...

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 might be the case if the price is static but, since the abolition of the groceries order, the proportion of income spent on food has diminished greatly. Part of the reason for that is the abolition of the groceries order. To my mind, it could certainly be-----

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 relates to the head of the Bill and the practices that are being banned. The concept of fresh food has been devalued because a person can sometimes buy a head of lettuce for 8 cent. Other vegetables can be very cheap if they are bought in the right place at the right time. There is much anecdotal evidence to suggest that when those types of sales are run, including of dairy products...

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: Concerns have been expressed in some of the submissions we have received. The IFA has expressed concern that its members have encountered different definitions about perishables and whether it relates to 30 days or might be extended to 60 days. I do not know if the Minister has seen that submission and whether he can address that.

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 was a submission to our committee. Okay. Does the Minister understand the context of the question or the general point?

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. I expect this is in the sale or returns element.

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: We will do that. Returning to the earlier point about the grey and black, this is the difficulty. Someone in a contract with a retailer or another body for a long time who has been forced to have these grey practices included in the contract is in a weak position to say he or she does not want that anymore. Is that not the case? The purpose of the greying of those should be that I as an...

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: As I mentioned, I was involved in the negotiations at EU level and the exact opposite argument was used: that we would set a minimum standard and the expectation was that member states would go much further. They will probably include all, if not a large amount, of the grey list and probably add new ones themselves. That was nearly five years ago at this stage and now here we are.

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 suggestion has been made by the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association that categorises as an unfair trading practice the rules around conformity, such as the colour of eggs or the size and shape of vegetables. It is lunatic stuff that leads to food being thrown out sometimes. Would the Minister consider the ban of that practice to be an appropriate unfair trading practice to be added...

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 was in relation to a late submission from Musgrave, which referenced the need to report on the price of products such as butter and mince as a new provision. It sought new information, yet in the April briefing to us the Department indicated that is already collected by the Department in relation to butter. What additional produce will be price-tracked?

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 they required now?

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: They are not new powers given to the Commission to price-track those. That is already happening.

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. It states, "Where the complainant so requests, the Office shall take the necessary measures for the appropriate protection of the identity of the complainant or the members". Thus they must request it.

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 submissions we have received have said it should be the default position that confidentiality is protected unless there is a very strong reason to divulge information. As I said, we heard that from two very different actors, namely, the CCPC and the IFA. They essentially said confidentiality should be the default position.

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: On part 4, it makes sense that where the parties to an independent alternative dispute resolution reach full and final conclusion, the office may consider the issue closed. Is there an inference, and if so, can it be made more explicit, that where they do not reach a resolution, the office then resumes its consideration?

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 head mentions that the Minister may consult the office regarding proposals for legislation in terms of fairness and transparency. The office could bring proposals but there is no obligation on the Minister to act. Is there a mechanism by which, at a minimum, there would be an obligation on the Minister to outline why he or she has not acted?

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: On general powers of inspection, providing for seizing documents or equipment, do those powers include the power to identify beneficial ownership of an entity? It is head 46. It is on the general power of inspection. If a complaint is made against a body - large processors, for example - will the inspectors or authorised officers have the right to identify the beneficial owner?