Results 7,501-7,520 of 23,950 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

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)

Charlie McConalogue: Mr. Kinsella will speak on the rationale for the €500,000.

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)

Charlie McConalogue: The option of a fine would be there. If the office for fairness and transparency is taking a case forward, it would have to go to court in the first instance to prosecute. The court would-----

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)

Charlie McConalogue: They would not have to pay them.

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)

Charlie McConalogue: 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)

Charlie McConalogue: In that case they would not have taken the fixed penalty. It would be up to the unfair trading practices directive to take them to court and they would have their day in 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)

Charlie McConalogue: Until such time as people are brought to court, they would not have anything to appeal. They would be in disagreement and they would be defending a 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)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes, but-----

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)

Charlie McConalogue: We would expect there to be a lot of dialogue between the buyers and the enforcement authority on an issue. People can appeal a compliance notice but they have to go to court to do so. There is an onus on the unfair trading authority to ensure it has-----

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)

Charlie McConalogue: It is not in the interests of the unfair trading practices enforcement authority or the office of fairness and transparency to go to court for something that does not stack up.

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)

Charlie McConalogue: Will the €500,000 act as a suitable deterrent?

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)

Charlie McConalogue: I think €500,000 is a significant deterrent-----

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)

Charlie McConalogue: -----in anybody's book. Decisions can be published, which is significant from a reputational point of view. We will reflect on the points that have been made. This is pre-legislative scrutiny. It is a significant Bill to which we have given thought and on which we have worked closely with the Office of the Attorney General. This is the first step in the legislative process. We will...

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)

Charlie McConalogue: We do not necessarily have to charge a fee.

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)

Charlie McConalogue: We might potentially set it up without a fee and see how it goes. I will have to take legal advice on whether it is possible for someone's first complaint to be without a fee and the second to have a fee.

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)

Charlie McConalogue: I do not know whether that would prejudice a second complaint over a first complaint. If we were planning a fee it would not be significant. We want to avoid a situation whereby somebody can fire off complaints at the press of a button.

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)

Charlie McConalogue: A fee of €30 or €50 would potentially change the pitch but not act as a barrier to anybody with a genuine complaint.

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)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes. We have 69 pages of heads in front of us and a great deal of thought has gone into this Bill, but the reason for the legislative process is to examine it fully. The reason for pre-legislative scrutiny is for the joint committee to have the opportunity to engage with other key stakeholders and feed that back. We have done a great deal of work in getting it to this point and I look...

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)

Charlie McConalogue: May I say something briefly? I thank the Chair and the other members of the committee for their engagement and time and for their thorough examination of the Bill. I also thank my team - Ms Robinson, Mr. Collins and Mr. Kinsella. I also thank Ms Sinéad McPhillips, assistant secretary in the Department, who has led on this Bill. I thank my former private secretary, Mr. Aiden Kelly,...

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)

Charlie McConalogue: Ms Robinson wants to make a further point, if that is okay.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Correspondence (28 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The officials in the Records Branch of my Department have advised me that a comprehensive reply has recently issued, together with copies of relevant documentation. Arising from the delay in replying to this request, the fees that would normally apply in these circumstances have been waived in this case.