I gather the Bill has not been printed yet. Could we have some information on this?
Restrictive Practices (Confirmation of Order) Bill, 1980: Second and Subsequent Stages.
Question proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
It is printed and has been circulated.
The debate from the Dáil has not been printed yet.
That only took place last Wednesday.
Since the Dáil debate has not been printed would it not be wiser to defer this Bill until next week?
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
It is rather a difficult time. The Senator had the opportunity on the Order of Business to make that point. It is unreasonable to raise it as the business is called.
The reason I raise it now is that this morning on the Order of Business we did not understand that the debate in the Dáil had not been printed.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach
The business ordered was 1 to 9, in that order.
The object of this Bill is to confirm the Restrictive Practices (Motor Spirit) Order, 1980 which I made on 23 May 1980 under the Restrictive Practices Act, 1972.
This order extends for a further six months the currency of a statutory ban on the operation of new company owned motor spirit stations by oil companies, created by the Restrictive Practices (Motor Spirit) Order, 1972. That order, as amended, is due to expire on 18 July 1980.
The supply and distribution of motor spirit has been the subject of legislation since 1961. The 1961 order, made following an inquiry held in 1960 by the Fair Trade Commission, was for the purpose of regulating the "solus" system, the system under which a retailer agrees to handle one brand of motor spirit exclusively. The commission had found that, while the system had certain merits, it tended to encourage an excessive number of petrol outlets. Shortly after the making of this order, the Fair Trade Commission and the petrol companies reached agreement on certain principles designed to limit the increase in outlets.
There was concern through the sixties that the guiding principles were not having their intended effect of limiting the number of outlets and that the regulation of the solus system was leading the petrol companies to increase the number of directly operated outlets. At the Minister's request, the commission held an inquiry into the growth in outlets in 1970.
The Restrictive Practices Commission, in their report of that inquiry, argued that the growth of the control by the oil companies over the retail market needed to be halted for a time in the public interest as it felt that this development would lead to dominance over the retail trade by the petrol companies and increase the risk of certain restrictive practices. The subsequent 1972 order halted this development for three years. It was reviewed by the commission in 1975 and on their recommendation extended for another three years until the summer of 1978.
The ban was further extended to 18 July of this year by means of orders made in 1978 and 1979 in order to allow the Restrictive Practices Commission to carry out a further inquiry, which I requested early in 1978. This inquiry was concerned with the operation of the current Restrictive Practices (Motor Spirit) Orders, any matters germane to the operation of the orders and also the conditions which obtain in regard to agreements under which petrol stations, which are company owned but not company run, are operated. The commission in the course of this inquiry also looked into a recent development in the trade which I regarded as being very relevant to the inquiry. This was the announcement by one of the petrol wholesalers that supplies of petrol would be withdrawn from uncontracted retailers who could not take a specific minimum delivery of petrol. Special sittings to deal with this issue only were held in March last.
I have now received the commission's report of their inquiry and, to facilitate examination of it and the taking of action in relation to their recommendations, I have extended the current statutory ban on the operation of new company owned motor spirit stations by petrol companies for a further six months. The report, which will be published, is now the subject of urgent examination, and I expect to be introducing legislation based on those of the commission's recommendations which I accept, later in the year.
The Restrictive Practices Act, 1972 provides that orders of this kind shall not have effect unless they are confirmed by an Act of the Oireachtas. The Bill now before the Seanad is the confirming Bill which is necessary to give force of law to the order. The order, however, may not be amended but must be accepted or rejected as it stands.
This is an uncontroversial measure and I have no hesitation in recommending it to the Seanad.
As the Minister states, this Bill is quite uncontroversial and for that reason we support it. It is a little unsatisfactory to have to discuss Bills, regardless of the uncontroversial issues, against the background of the lack of the publishing of the Dáil Report because we can have a better debate here when we have knowledge of the views expressed in the Dáil. The only relevant difference between this debate and what occurred in the Dáil is the fact that the Minister has received the commission's report since the Dáil sitting and the extension for six months which he seeks in this Bill is entirely reasonable and has our support.
I welcome this Bill. As has been said, it is uncontroversial but most essential. It was very highhanded of the petrol companies to discriminate against the smaller suppliers by insisting that only people who could take a certain number of gallons of petrol would be supplied. I commend the Minister for the order he has made extending for six months the position as it exists now. This is a very necessary Bill and a very necessary order and I welcome it heartily.
I thank the Senators for the welcome they have given to this Bill. I must confirm to Senator Staunton as I did in my speech that the report is now available and that legislation will be forthcoming on those sections of the report that we agree with. I accept fully the point made by Senator de Brún with regard to the minimum drop as was proposed by an individual company, and that is why we decided last March to ask that the Restrictive Practices Commission would have a special hearing for one day on this issue. The results of that hearing will appear in legislation before the end of the year.
I would like to thank the Senators for their warm welcome of the measure.
Question put and agreed to.
Agreed to take the remaining Stages today.
Bill put through Committee, reported without amendment, received for final consideration and passed.