I move amendment No. 1:
In page 3, subsection (2), lines 16 to 18, to delete all words from and including "may" in line 16 down to and including "one." in line 18 and substitute the following:
"(other than Part 4) may be cited together as An Bord Bia Acts 1994 to 2004 and shall be construed together as one.
(3) The Registration of Potato Growers and Potato Packers Act 1984 and Part 4 may be cited together as the Registration of Potato Growers and Potato Packers Acts 1984 and 2004 and shall be construed together as one.”.
I thank the committee for agreeing to take these related amendments together. The purpose of this amendment is to amend the collective citation consequent on the introduction of a new Part 4 to the Bill. Part 4 provides for amendment of the Registration of Potato Growers and Potato Packers Act 1984, and I am proposing an amendment to section 2 of the Act to provide for removal from the register of growers or packers who are no longer growing or packing potatoes and, for reasons of transparency, to have the register available for inspection.
I am also proposing an amendment to section 3 of the Act to require that the registration number of the grower and the packer be given on packed potatoes. The proposed amendment of section 3 removes the option to display either the grower's or the packer's registered number on the packaging in all cases where potatoes are being sold. It is very much in the interests of consumers that when they go into a supermarket they will from hereon have the grower's number and the packer's number on the pack.
Growers have made representations to me over the past couple of years saying that they have to cope with imported potatoes, with people not knowing what they are buying or who they are buying it from, and that we should have better labelling and traceability. I said I would seek to do that. The difficulty then arose that to introduce legislation takes a fair length of time, and I might be waiting another 18 months or so. As this Bill was going through the House it provided me with an opportunity to introduce this straightforward technical amendment so that people, on purchasing a bag of potatoes, will know the identity of the grower and the packer. That is what this amendment is about.
The potato sector is an important sector of the horticulture industry. For example, in 2003 a total of almost 34,000 acres of potatoes were planted, realising a farm gate value of more than €100 million. On an annual basis Ireland produces approximately 450,000 tonnes of potatoes. Over the past decade the sector has consolidated, with the top 200 growers now accounting for 80% of the production area. Irish retail multiples have largely consolidated their supply base of potatoes through five key potato packers. This has brought about a tighter supply base and assisted in fostering greater controls on traceability, quality and food safety.
The retail market value of potatoes is estimated to be in the region €162 million. The Registration of Potato Growers and Potato Packers Act has been in operation since 1984 and has worked well. I am bringing forward the amendment to section 3 to reflect current demands and expectations in regard to the traceability of food. The purpose of the amendment is to provide full traceability of the bag or pack of potatoes back to the primary grower.
At present the potato packer's number is shown on the package in the case of the majority of sales at retail level. While traceability is available to the Department via the packer's number, it is not immediately obvious to the shopkeeper or consumer. Today's consumer wants to have this information readily available and will often purchase food on the basis of the knowledge of the origin of the product. Traceability, quality control and food safety have become a feature of retail sales due to various health scares and a comprehensive traceability system provides assurance both to the seller and the buyer.
Of course, in very recent times we had a scare about potato disease. The industry was quite concerned and worried about it and made its views known to me. That is why I am using the occasion of this particular Bill to bring about this amendment. The proposed amendment to section 2 will facilitate the updating of the register and allow for the deletion of entries in the register which clearly do not reflect current reality given the consolidation in the number of growers and packers. I am also making provision for inspection of the register to ensure that the traceability route is fully in place.
The Act applies only to potatoes grown in the State and will not affect imports. Imports are required to have a plant passport label issued by an official body. This label may show either the official registered number or the official packer number in accordance with EU regulations. Imports mainly comprise new season Mediterranean potatoes and potatoes for the potato chip trade. This amendment is proposed to advance my overall policy of providing maximum information to consumers on the origin of the food products they consume. I commend it to the committee.