Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his clarification and Senator Susan O'Keeffe for her explanation. My job is to sum up, but I do not have that much time to do so.

We want to push on Europe the ideas brought forward by the Senators this evening. I will bring them to the attention of our officials. Our Minister, Deputy Coveney, is currently away dealing with this issue and we will be shown to lead the way as we did last week on the Common Agricultural Policy. Perhaps I did not explain that properly in my ow

I accept the points that the Minister of State has made. As I believe we can influence Europe, I am not going to seek a vote on Second Stage. Senator Crown and I have had experience of adjourning a Second Stage debate and revisiting the Bill when the issues arising have been clarified. That is what happened in respect of Senator Crown's Seanad reform legislation and a number of Bills I introduced in the past.

Speakers in the debate made a range of interesting points but I will not attempt to address all of them. Senator Comiskey referred to best before dates. One of the reasons we are opposed to best before dates is because they can be vague. This is why we prefer a use by date. I recall one occasion in which a supplier of potatoes listed a best before date that was only four days after we received the stock. We received the potatoes on a Friday but people refused to purchase them because they believed they would have gone off by the Monday. The potato supplier's argument was that new potatoes are at their tastiest when eaten in the first three or four days. They are still edible two weeks later but they do not have the same taste. Senator Ó Domhnaill asked whether we would consider extending the Bill to cover restaurants. We did not attempt to include restaurants because we wanted compact legislation. I loved Senator Mary Ann O'Brien's comments. She emphasised the importance of confidence and trust, which are what we are trying to achieve. We have greatly benefited from her experience as a manufacturer. Senator O'Neill pointed out that good labelling is beneficial to consumers and retailers.

The Minister of State indicated that he was reluctant to accept the Bill was because of the costs it might incur. I have been in business long enough to realise that consumers are good at balancing price and quality. When I started out as a retailer people were very interested in price but they later became interested in taste, health and where products come from. I have tried to incorporate as much of that as I was able.

One of the incidents that sparked off this Bill occurred when my executive assistant, Ms Anne Ó Broin, was shopping in Carrick-on-Suir a couple of weeks ago. She purchased loose fish from a van and the seller had hand written on the label the area of the sea from which the fish had been caught. I received considerable assistance from Mr. Raymond O'Rourke, who is a barrister and an expert in food technology. I was also assisted by Mr. Brian Hunt, who is an expert in drafting Bills. The help I received this evening has also been particularly useful. I propose that we adjourn our debate on Second Stage and I hope we will be able to resume when the Minister of State is ready. I will spend the interim trying to convince him of the Bill's value.