Vol. 407 No. 3
23 Tomás Mac Giolla asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food his views on the recommendations of the recent report of the Sectoral Development Committee on the bakery industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
31 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he has any plans to deal with the serious situation which has occurred in the bakery industry with a continuing loss of employment; his views on whether our requirements for the supply of bread would have to be improved if the present trends were to be allowed continue; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 31 together.
The basic cause of the present situation in the bakery industry is not the recent bread price war which was dealt with in some detail by the Minister for Industry and Commerce on 12 February but a longstanding over-capacity problem in the industry combined with changing consumer patterns and the entry into the industry of new and more efficient operators. These facts were acknowledged in the report of a study of the industry carried out by the Sectoral Development Committee last year.
In so far as my Department's area of responsibility is concerned, the main recommendation in this report is that the industry itself is best placed to take the initiative in planning its future and that it should do so with the minimum of Government involvement. Based on that recommendation, I would see the role of my Department to examine rationalisation proposals put forward by the industry and to encourage and support such proposals where it is appropriate to do so. The other main recommendations in the report are matters for other Government Ministers in the first instance.
I am very surprised at the Minister's reply to this question when he says that the recommendations are a matter for other Government Ministers. Would the Minister not agree that the traditional bakeries closed in the wake of the removal of Government retail price maintenance and bread subsidies to bakeries and the development by the bigger bakeries of high technology? Would he accept that the recommendation for a multiple grocer fair trading rules and a definition of what maximum share of the grocery trade may not be exceeded, which would help to bring some bit of fair play to the smaller bakeries, would be very desirable? Would the Minister not agree that he should take on board those recommendations?
There is a difficult situation in the bakery industry. In fact there was a loss of over 3,000 jobs between 1982 and 1989. However, at this point the industry is stabilising. I note recently one large company, by association of seven to eight bakeries with the one brand product, has been carrying out quite a useful job. I see stabilisation in the industry now and hopefully the job losses are at an end.
On the possibility of something similar happening in the milk trade, I had a Private Notice Question down which was refused on the grounds that it was not urgent. Given the figures produced by the Minister now in regard to job losses in the bakery trade, would he not agree that it is urgent that something be done about the milk trade and the supply to supermarkets before a similar situation arises in that industry?
The Deputy will appreciate there was a question tabled here today on the subject.
Would the Minister agree that there is a great need for consumer information and information concerning the dietary aspects of bread? Some years ago it was one of the main staples of every household, whether it was home baked or bought. Now there seems to be some question about the consumption of bread. Would the Minister agree that there is a need for an educational promotional exercise?
Yes. I know that, for example, speciality breads like gluten-free bread are becoming increasingly a part of the main industry. I accept totally that the nutritional quality aspect of bread and other foods is very important.
