Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Senator O'Brien raised the issue of an item of legislation that has been on the A list for some time. Senator O'Brien will appreciate that quite a number of items on the A list were not reached over a period due to the necessity to bring in emergency legislation, troika legislation and so on but I am happy to report to Senator O'Brien that the consumer protection and competition Bill is close to completion and should be published in April. I have made inquiries and established that, and we would all agree with the Senator on the importance of that legislation. As he stated, there have been difficulties about the merger in particular and about framing the provisions on the merger. We all appreciate the difficulties that people in that sector are facing, particularly market gardeners and those in the retail area. That is important legislation.

Senator Paul Coghlan spoke on the issue of tourism and reminded us of the exceptional value to be had in Killarney, a theme to which he often returns. We had our Labour Party annual conference there in December and we were very impressed by the hospitality on offer.