Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Best wishes to former Deputy, Mr. Neville.

Part 2 comprises sections 7 to 54. Chapter 1, sections 7 to 10, deals with the establishment of provisions that provides that the official name of the office will be an rialálaí agraibhia and that the new office shall be independent in the performance of its functions.

Chapter 2, sections 11 to 20, deals with the key functions to be delivered by the regulator. First, it will deliver a price and market analysis and reporting function and in doing so, the new body will facilitate timely access to information about price and market trends, which should help bring greater transparency to the agrifood supply chain. This function should help food businesses, including primary producers, to compete effectively and take well-informed production and marketing decisions. Second, the agrifood regulator will also become the designated national enforcement authority for the unfair trading practices, UTPs, directive and any additional unfair trading regulations introduced under this Bill. These powers of enforcement will transfer from the UTP enforcement authority, currently operating on an interim basis in my Department since I transposed the EU-wide UTP directive into Irish law by statutory instrument in 2021. The functions also include providing information and advice to the Minister about the agricultural and food supply chain and consultations on legislation affecting the agricultural and food supply chain.

In chapter 3, sections 21 to 26, the governance provisions provide that an rialálaí agraibhia will be led by a board. On the basis of the pre-legislative scrutiny report, I increased the number of board members from six to eight. On the basis of discussions on Committee Stage, I introduced an amendment on Report Stage that increased the primary producer representation on the board from two members to three. The board members will be appointed when the office is established.

Chapter 4, sections 27 to 32, deals with proceedings. The Bill provides that the new office may establish committees to assist it with its work.

Chapter 5, sections 33 to 34, provides that the new office will have a chief executive officer and I was pleased to recently announce, following a competitive process, the appointment of a CEO-designate for an rialálaí agraibhia, Niamh Lenehan. Pending the establishment of the office, she has commenced work on an interim basis as head of the UTP enforcement authority in my Department and is preparing for transfer of powers to an rialálaí agraibhia once it is established after the legislation has been passed.

Chapter 6, sections 35 and 36, provides for attendance before Oireachtas committees as well as staffing; planning and reporting; finance and standard provisions.

Chapters 7 to 11, inclusive, which cover sections 37 to 54, provide for staffing and operational matters of the new office including strategy, work programmes, annual reports, finance and prohibited disclosures and membership of other bodies.

Part 3 deals with the UTP directive. Chapter 1 deals with the scope of the enforcement of the UTPs, which concerns business-to-business relationships. Chapter 2 provides the Minister with the power to make regulations on unfair trading practices which will be known as the "Agri-Food Unfair Trading Regulations". The existing UTPs included in SI 198 of 2021 have been provided for in the regulation-making powers in section 57. This includes late payments; payment for deterioration or loss of products; charges for stocking, displaying or listing products, or fitting out; charges for making products available on the market; the cost of any discounts sold by the buyer as part of a promotion; a charge for advertising or marketing by the buyer; and payment of compensation for the cost of examining customer complaints.

Chapter 3 provides for powers to levy fines of up to €10 million on buyers, including retailers, food producers and processors, "or 10 per cent of the aggregate turnover ... in the financial year in which the offence was committed or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years, or to both". This chapter also provides for procedures for submission of complaints and alternative dispute resolutions.

Part 4 deals with enforcement. Chapters 1 and 2 provide for the appointment and powers of authorised officers of the new office. It is relevant to note that an rialálaí agraibhia will have the powers to enter a premises where the authorised officer has reasonable grounds for believing that there are records relating to agricultural and food products. Chapter 3 provides for enforcement and supplementary regulation-making powers, covering a range of matters, including regulation-making powers for the collection of price and market information to address issues of lack of transparency and information asymmetry in the agricultural and food supply chain.

Chapter 4, sections 81 to 86, provides for time limits for instituting summary proceedings, liability for offences by organisations and offences for breaches of any regulations made under this chapter.

The Bill fulfils the Government’s commitment to fairness and transparency in our agrifood sector. It provides our farmers, fishers, growers and small businesses with an effective advocate with the powers necessary to protect them from stronger players in the sector and, through its price-analysis and market-analysis function, help to improve their position. Our agrifood sector produces the best food in the world and it is only right that our primary producers are afforded a regulator with the powers necessary to see that they are resilient in the years ahead and continue to be able to do so.

I thank all the parties involved in getting the Bill to this Stage: fellow Deputies, the Oireachtas joint committee members for their recommendations; the Bills Office; the Whip’s office; the Seanad Office; the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel; the Office of the Attorney General and the team in my own Department who have prepared the Bill. I look forward to the contributions of this House and hope we can progress the enactment of this Bill and establish an rialálaí agraibhia without undue delay. I commend the Bill to the house.