The Irish Republic’s controversial groceries order, which bans below-cost selling, may still be abolished, despite the recent tripling of fines for breaches of the order.
In a special statement to parliament in Dublin, Minister Michael Ahern, Trade and Enterprise Department, emphasised that a decision had yet to be taken.
“I understand that some parties have interpreted the increase in fines as a signal about the future of the order,” he said. “That is not the case.”
The increase in the fines to é60,000 (The Grocer, April 23, p12) was simply an updating of
consumer protection legislation, Ahern stressed.
A parliamentary committee that spent some months investigating Irish grocery prices recently recommended that the order be retained, a decision applauded by the food industry and by RGDATA, the grocers’ body. But a ministerial-appointed expert group, whose report is due shortly, has already indicated it takes the opposite view. So, too, does the Irish Consumers’Association and the Competition Authority, both of which claim the order keeps prices higher than they need be.
Minister Ahern promised parliament that when the expert group reported, the government would initiate what he called “a national consultative process” on the below-cost ban. “All arguments will be considered by government before a decision is made,” he said.
Anthony Garvey
In a special statement to parliament in Dublin, Minister Michael Ahern, Trade and Enterprise Department, emphasised that a decision had yet to be taken.
“I understand that some parties have interpreted the increase in fines as a signal about the future of the order,” he said. “That is not the case.”
The increase in the fines to é60,000 (The Grocer, April 23, p12) was simply an updating of
consumer protection legislation, Ahern stressed.
A parliamentary committee that spent some months investigating Irish grocery prices recently recommended that the order be retained, a decision applauded by the food industry and by RGDATA, the grocers’ body. But a ministerial-appointed expert group, whose report is due shortly, has already indicated it takes the opposite view. So, too, does the Irish Consumers’Association and the Competition Authority, both of which claim the order keeps prices higher than they need be.
Minister Ahern promised parliament that when the expert group reported, the government would initiate what he called “a national consultative process” on the below-cost ban. “All arguments will be considered by government before a decision is made,” he said.
Anthony Garvey
No comments yet