Francis O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am delighted to be here as it is my first time to speak while the Minister is in the House.

The aim of this proposal is to modernise and improve EU food legislation rules so that consumers have all the vital information they need to make an informed choice when they are buying. It also attempts to ensure that all consumers have similar information across all the EU member states.

We must update two directives in labelling legislation: Directive 2000/13/EC, which deals with general labelling, for example, lists of ingredients and use-by date, and Directive 90/496/EEC, which deals with nutrition labelling on food. At present, nutrition labelling is usually optional. The issue of food labelling is very complicated. There are conflicting demands and views from different interest groups. To implement these changes in Ireland, it will be necessary to add this new regulation into Irish law by way of statutory instrument.

Consumer rights has risen in importance. Labelling can allow food manufacturers to pass on to consumers essential information about products, such as use-by dates and safety warnings. This clearly serves the interests of both manufacturers and consumers. Manufacturers of good quality foods can display the benefits of their products when compared to those of their competitors. However, it is clear that consumers must also exercise personal responsibility. They will need proper information about what they eat and drink and this proposal will help them in that regard. I support the proposal.