Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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651. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on establishing a statutory red meat regulator. [59899/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I am committed to brining greater levels of transparency to the supply chain. The Deputy will be aware of the commitment in the Programme for Government to establish a new office of National Food Ombudsman, or equivalent, which will enforce the Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) Directive. This office will also have a role in analysing and reporting on price and market data in Ireland. The establishment of such an Office requires primary legislation.

As an interim measure, pending primary legislation, in April this year I signed Statutory Instrument No. 198 of 2021 to transpose the UTP Directive directly into Irish law before the May transposition deadline.

I also established the interim UTP Enforcement Authority in my Department. This Enforcement Authority has been assigned all of the necessary legal powers to investigate complaints from suppliers, including primary producers, to carry out investigations on its own initiative and to initiate legal proceedings for breaches of the Unfair Trading Practices defined in the Directive.

With regard to the establishment of the new Office of Food Ombudsman or equivalent, the General Scheme of the Bill for the primary legislation is currently being prepared. I am fully committed to ensuring that the Programme for Government commitment is implemented as quickly as possible and I am pleased to say that, as announced in the details of Budget 2022, an indicative €4 million has been provided in the estimates for the establishment of the new Office.

I believe that the Regulations I introduced in April are a significant step in progressing towards a more even playing field for our agricultural and food suppliers, providing them with a service that they can avail of with regard to unfair trading practices.