Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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139. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the progress that he has made in establishing the food ombudsman; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26916/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government includes a commitment for a new office of National Food Ombudsman to enforce the Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) Directive and to have a role in analysing and reporting on price and market data in Ireland. 

In April 2021, I signed the Statutory Instrument transposing the UTP Directive directly into Irish law before the 1st May 2021 deadline for transposition. At that time, I also established the UTP Enforcement Authority in my Department on an interim basis pending the finalisation of the primary legislation for the new Office.

I assure you that this Enforcement Authority has been assigned all of the necessary legal powers including to investigate complaints from suppliers of agricultural and food products and to initiate legal proceedings for breaches of unfair trading practices defined in the UTP Directive.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that on 22^ndMarch last, the Government approved the priority drafting of the General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022.  This primary legislation is required to establish a new independent statutory body, which will be known as the “Office for Fairness and Transparency in the Agri-Food Supply Chain”.

The Bill is currently with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel for detailed drafting and has been submitted to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine for pre-legislative scrutiny.

To coincide with enactment or commencement of the Bill, the current UTP Regulations that I signed in 2021 will be repealed.  I will use the enabling provisions in this Bill to make new Regulations providing for the transfer of responsibility for UTP enforcement functions from my Department to the remit of the new Office.

I am confident that the new Office will help strengthen the position of our farmers, fishers, and other suppliers of agricultural and food products in negotiating a fairer price for their produce, and I hope to submit the draft Bill to both Houses of the Oireachtas for debate in the near future.

This is a key priority for me as Minister and I want to see the Office established as quickly as possible to help support our farm families and all primary producers in the country.