Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue will appear before the Joint Oireachtas Committee this evening (Wednesday, June 29) to answer questions about unfair trading practices (UTPs) and the new food-chain fairness office.
The minister’s appearance is part of pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022.
The meeting will address UTPs and the proposal to establish the Office for Fairness and Transparency in the Agri-Food Supply Chain, which has previously been referred to as the ‘National Food Ombudsman’.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine Jackie Cahill said: “This bill proposes to establish a new ‘National Food Ombudsman’ to enforce the EU Unfair Trading Practices Directive.”
“It is proposed that this new authority will enforce EU-wide rules on prohibited unfair trading practices in the food supply chain and will have powers to enforce this directive, penalising those who breach regulations,” Cahill pointed out.
He added: “It is further proposed that the [office] will have a specific role in analysing and reporting on price and market data in Ireland.”
The proposed aim of the bill, according to Cahill, is to “establish fairness, equity and transparency in the food chain from farm to fork”.
“The committee looks forward to discussing the bill with Minister McConalogue and carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny of this important legislation for farmers, factories, retailers and consumers alike.”
The meeting, in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House, can be view on Oireachtas TV from 5:30p.m.
The committee has 14 members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.
It was confirmed in March that Minister McConalogue had secured Cabinet approval to establish a new independent statutory authority to enhance transparency in the agricultural and food supply chain.