Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The issue of franchises has two sides to it - the individual operator who holds a franchise licence, the franchisee, and the overall, higher level operator, the franchisor, which operates and controls the franchise. While the majority of individual franchisees are small operations with a turnover of less than €5 million per annum, the parent franchisors are much bigger concerns with turnovers of over €50 million, with powerful purchasing powers.

It has already been agreed to remove the reference to franchisees in a previous Dáil Report Stage amendment as there was never an intention to cover the individual franchisees through the definition of “relevant grocery goods undertakings”. However, on the issue of the franchisors, these are intended to be covered by the definition of “relevant grocery goods undertakings”. Some franchisors consider themselves to be wholesalers, others to be retailers.

To ensure both scenarios are covered, the phrase which the Senators are seeking to delete in the definition of retailer is vital. Without it, there is a danger that retailers could try to circumvent the regulations by operating franchise arrangements. In light of this I cannot accept the proposed amendment.