Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) president Joe Healy has indicated this week that the farming body wants the Government to “push ahead” with an independent retail regulator to give effect to tougher legislation on the food chain.
Healy was responding to comments from the head of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) Isolde Goggin who said the commission didn’t have the resources to establish the much-needed regulator in the first instance.
“The fact that the CCPC is walking away from this won’t surprise farmers who never had faith in the commission to pursue retailers,” he added.
Meanwhile, IFA’s president acknowledged that the CCPC did accept the need for an independent adjudicator “with strong powers” to intervene on the ground so that farmers could get a hearing.
We have always held up the UK model as the basis for making real headway in this area.
Healy continued: “With the CCPC off the pitch we want the Government to get this moving. The good work done at EU level will only have impact if there is robust enforcement on behalf of primary producers.
“EU legislation exists for member states to establish an independent authority. It’s time for our Government to get on with it and transpose the EU directive into Irish law.”