Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. The Labour Party welcomes the opportunity to speak on this very important Bill. It has considerable implications for relations in and along the food chain and among those operating in our agricultural sector. It seeks to transpose the EU directive on unfair trading practices in the agriculture and food supply chain. The directive intends to improve transparency and rebalance the distribution of power in the food sector.

It is not unfair to say that for too long, farmers and other primary producers have been taken for granted in the prices they are paid. They are price takers in the market and are often beholden to large retailers or processors which behave like cartels. They are vulnerable to abuse because they are not in a strong position in terms of bargaining power. Ginormous profits are being made in the food production sector but the primary producers are not getting anywhere near their fair cut. We think the Bill is very well intentioned in its efforts to address this power imbalance but we have concerns about how effective it can be. As is too often the case with the Government, the Bill’s provisions do not go far enough to make a real and meaningful impact on the industry and how it protects primary producers. Helpful and constructive amendments were put down by the Opposition in the Dáil that would have improved the Bill’s efficacy but they were struck down by the Government on Report Stage. I acknowledge that the Minister accepted a number of recommendations made at pre-legislative scrutiny. I hope that the Minister will be open to amendments here and will take the suggestions on board.

A number of issues in the Bill should be addressed but today I will focus on the independent regulator. The establishment of an independent regulator for the agrifood sector is much needed and timely. It is something for which farmers and primary producers have long called. If it improves the level of transparency in the sector and levels the playing field as intended, it will be a positive intervention. My concerns are around the powers vested in the regulator or rather around the absence of certain powers. I do not believe the regulator has been given the breadth needed to properly carry out its mandate in protecting producers against unfair trading practices. The limitations placed on it have effectively nullified much of the influence it could have to improve conditions for small producers.How, for example, is the proposed regulator supposed to carry out proper analysis and investigate violations and allegations of unfair trading practices if it only has access to publicly available information? If we really want to clamp down on the issues in the sector and rebalance the power dynamics so that the primary producers are not being shafted at every turn, we need to give the regulator access to unpublished market data and information from all along the food supply chain. This Bill, unfortunately in our opinion, does not do that and does not go far enough. It will be next to impossible for the regulator to carry out investigations thoroughly unless the issue is addressed. The whole endeavour will be just a fool's errand if that does not happen.

We cannot afford a light-touch approach to this legislation and the regulator in particular. Farmers and other primary producers really cannot afford a light-touch approach to regulation in the sector. The sector is rife with issues that are hurting farmers and impacting on their incomes, such as below-cost purchasing, delayed payments, and unilateral and short-notice contract changes by buyers. These practices are hurting the viability of small primary producers' businesses, as has been said by colleagues already. They do not have the same financial or bargaining power of the big retailers, processors and suppliers. We need to give them a greater bargaining chip but we cannot do that unless the regulator is given adequate powers to carry out this monolith.

I want to touch briefly on the issue of rising grocery prices and the price gouging that has happened in our supermarkets. This issue was first raised by my colleague Deputy Nash in the Dáil some time ago, and now we are hearing from the same supermarkets trying to save face and making a big deal of lowering their prices. It has shown a fundamental flaw in our consumer protection laws. That flaw could have been addressed in this Bill by giving the new regulator the power to investigate anti-competitive practices. That is another trick that has been missed by limiting the regulator to business-to-business practices. I acknowledge that a lot is being asked of our farmers and primary producers now and into the future in how they conduct their business. They are at the vanguard of our climate action and our response to environmental degradation. It is true that serious and fundamental changes are needed in our agriculture sector and I genuinely believe that the vast majority of farmers are open to this challenge and want to make their sector more sustainable. However, we need to give them the greatest amount of support possible. We need to emphasise the principles of just transition. If a food regulator can help them in that regard and ensure the fairest deal for farmers in regard to their business, this certainly is a very welcome step. I look forward to engaging with the Minister as this Bill makes its way through the Houses.