The proposed new Office for Fairness and Transparency in the Agri-Food Supply Chain, which has also been referred to as a ‘food ombudsman’ by government, may require a levy to fund its activities, as well as a fee for complaints.
That’s according to Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue, who addressed a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture last week.
In his opening remarks to the committee, the minister confirmed that the bill establishing the new office provides that a fee for complaints may be introduced.
Minister McConalogue said that the need for a fee will be examined in due course.
The bill also provides for a levy to be imposed to assist in the costs of running the office.
The minister told the committee that there is no immediate proposal to introduce a charge or levy at this time as this will depend on the costs of the office over time and the number of complaints received and investigations carried out.
In terms of the structure of the office, Minister McConalogue explained that its day-to-day activities will be overseen by a CEO, who will report to a board that he appoints.
This board will consist of a chairperson and five ordinary members, two of whom will be representatives of primary producers, the minister said.
He added that the recruitment process for the CEO of the office will start “very shortly”.
The new office will, according to the minister, preform a price and market analysis and reporting function to “bring greater transparency”.
It is intended that the office will commission and provide regular reports on price and market information on all sectors in the agri-food supply chain.
The office will also be tasked with enforcing the EU’s Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs) Directive, which aims to curtail UTPs between agri-food businesses and their suppliers. The bill will give officers the power to investigate any UTPs that arise.
The UTPs Directive is currently administered through the Unfair Trading Practices Enforcement Authority, which is a body under Minister McConalogue’s department.
When the new bill is enacted, the minister will bring in new regulations to transfer responsibility for enforcing the UTPs Directive to the new ‘food ombudsman’ office.