Vol. 525 No. 3
171 Mr. Perry asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the recent report of the Competition Commission in the United Kingdom on the retail groceries trade; the implications of the findings of that report for the retail food sector in Ireland; and the steps she has taken to access the value of conducting such an inquiry in Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25132/00]
I am aware of the recent report by the UK Competition Commission on the supply of groceries from multiple stores in the UK. The recommendations cover a wide range of issues and I was particularly interested in their finding that the practice of persistent below cost selling by those with market power operated against the public interest in Britain. I took this finding into account in my recent decision to retain the Restrictive Practices (Groceries) Order, 1987, which bans below cost selling. The UK Competition Commission report is a very extensive and detailed document and it will be of assistance in our ongoing monitoring of the Irish retail grocery sector.
As to the value of conducting an inquiry in Ireland along the lines of that conducted by the UK Competition Commission, I have no plans to do so. The final report of the Competition and Mergers Review Group which I published in May of this year and a discussion document published by the group in December 1999 were significant contributions to the debate in this area. I therefore do not see any need for a further study along the lines of the UK Competition Commission report.
