John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 86: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will request the National Consumer Agency to set up an online grocery database containing real-time price information which will enable consumers to make accurate comparisons on the cost of various goods, or a basket of goods, across a number of retailers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26551/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The promotion of public awareness and the provision of public information on matters regarding consumer protection and welfare, including on issues such as prices, is an integral part of the statutory mandate of the National Consumer Agency (NCA). In the exercise of this function the Agency has conducted numerous surveys to raise awareness in relation to the price of a whole range of goods and services. Whilst these surveys have covered areas such as driving lesson costs, GP/Dentist fees, babycare product prices, home heating oil prices, child care costs etc. the Agency through its National Grocery Prices Survey has devoted significant resources to raising consumers awareness in relation to the different offerings available in the grocery market. Research conducted on behalf of the Agency has found that following on its price awareness activities there is now a heightened awareness of and responsiveness among consumers to price competitiveness in the grocery goods sector.

Insofar as the issue of online delivery of grocery price comparison information is concerned, I understand that in the course of 2009 the Agency looked at the possibility of establishing a reliable methodology for the online delivery of timely and accurate grocery price comparison information. Whilst a number of retailers at that time did provide proprietary online grocery price information, not all of the principal retailers did so. Accordingly the Agency contacted all the principal grocery retailers operating in the State with a view to securing their co-operation in the development of an online grocery price comparison website. Whilst retailers were not opposed to the development of such a site, it was not possible to secure agreement on this issue principally because of a number of technical impediments which were held out by the retailers as posing challenges to the idea of generating accurate, detailed grocery price information in a common format that would be useful to consumers.

Notwithstanding the difficulties in securing support for a dedicated price comparison website, the NCA was of the view that if a sufficient number of grocery retailers in Ireland operated online grocery websites, a commercial operator would respond by developing a price comparison site based on these website prices. This has indeed turned out to be the case and as of September 2011 there are two privately operated websites (SmartShopper and Fitthebill), providing price comparison information to Irish consumers.