The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, has finalised draft legislation which will allow a new regulator to issue fines of up to €10 million for breaches of unfair trading practices (UTP).
The minister will bring a memo to Cabinet this week on the Agriculture and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022.
If the memo is approved, McConalogue is planning to introduce the draft legislation in the Dáil before the end of the year.
The bill, which was part of the Programme for Government, reflects the European Union’s Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) policy.
It aims to improve market transparency and promote fairness in the agricultural and food supply chain.
Regulator
Last month, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine published a report on its pre-legislative scrutiny of the bill.
It is understood that Minister McConalogue has decided to adopt many of the recommendations made by the committee in the final version of the draft legislation.
This includes giving the new watchdog the ability to issue possible fines of up to €10 million or 10% of a company’s turnover for those found to be engaging in UTPs.
The draft bill had previously limited such fines to €500,000.
Along with having the power to investigate suspected breaches, the new authority will have the ability to refer matters to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) if it suspects that an indictable offence has been committed.
The new regulator is expected to provide regular reports examining price and market information in the agri-food supply chain.
It is understood that the minister has also taken on board the committee’s suggestion to change the name of the new office to the Agri-Food Regulator or An Rialtóir Agraibhia, instead of the Office for Fairness and Transparency in the Agri-Food Supply Chain.
As part of Budget 2023, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) will allocate funding of €4 million to cover the initial cost of establishing the new office.
The new regulator will be overseen by a board, the final draft has increased the membership of that board from six to eight people.
The recruitment process for a chief executive of the board was launched on October 5. Agriland understands that the process is now ready to move to the interview stage.
The successful candidate can expect to receive a yearly salary of between €98,593 and €121,586.