asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the number and names of trade organisations and businesses whose trading methods have been investigated under the Restrictive Trade Practices Act.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Restrictive Trade Practices Investigations.
Under the Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1953, investigations by the Fair Trade Commission are undertaken in relation to the supply and distribution of particular classes of goods and the rendering of ancillary services, rather than in relation to the activities of trade organisations or business firms.
The commission have held five formal inquiries under Section 7 of the Act and reports of four of these inquiries, in relation to the supply and distribution of radio sets, building materials, motor goods and grocery goods, have been published. Each of these reports contains a list of the witnesses who were examined in the course of the inquiry together with particulars of the trade organisations or firms which they represented. The report of the fifth inquiry, in relation to the supply and distribution of chemists' goods, will be published shortly.
The commission have also prepared and published fair trading rules, under Section 4 of the Act, in relation to the supply and distribution of 15 commodities or groups of commodities. These rules were prepared by the commission after consultation with the trade interests concerned.