Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 194: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on whether there is a cartel in operation within the grocery trade, resulting in small suppliers being forced out of operation, when shops that are tied into a franchise are told not to purchase from small local producers; and if he will investigate this matter. [9394/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Competition Authority is the independent statutory body responsible for enforcing competition law in the State. I would urge anyone who is aware of, or who has suspicions regarding anti-competitive practices in the grocery sector, or indeed any other sector, to report all details to the Authority who will investigate the matter. On 20 March 2006 when the Competition (Amendment) Act 2006, which repealed the Groceries Order, came into force, I asked the Competition Authority to review and monitor the structure and operation of the grocery trade for the foreseeable future to see how it responds to the new legislative environment. The Chairperson of the Competition Authority appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise and Small Business on 21 February last and informed the Committee that the Competition Authority had commenced its Grocery Monitor Project and that the project would: Describe in some detail the structure of the retail and wholesale segments of the grocery sector; Report on business practices in the sector, especially pricing behaviour; and Consider barriers to entry and expansion with a particular focus on the planning system. Following analysis of the information compiled as a result of this project, a Report will be drafted and published by the Competition Authority. I understand that the Authority expects to publish a first report toward the end of the third quarter of 2007. Further reports will be published annually for as long as it is considered necessary or appropriate to do so. It remains the case that the Competition Authority has not received any complaints about the groceries sector since the commencement of the Competition (Amendment) Act 2006. I have however brought the substance of the Deputy's question to the attention of the Chairman of the Authority and asked that the issue be borne in mind as part of the monitoring project. If the Deputy has any further information in regard to this issue, I would suggest that he also pass this on to the Authority.