Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 July 2004
158 Mr. Ferris asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the British Office of Fair Trading code of practice on supermarkets’ dealings with suppliers; if she has examined the document for possible application in some format in this State; her views on whether this would be a useful exercise and whether such a code of practice introduced here should have the benefit of legislation. [20678/04]
View answerI understand that the code of practice in question was recently reviewed in the UK and that the Office of Fair Trading has appointed auditors to conduct a compliance audit of the code.
The Irish retail grocery sector is already regulated by the Restrictive Practices (Groceries) Order 1987 and the Competition Act 2002. The Competition Act 2002 sets out general rules and prohibits all agreements which prevent, restrict or distort competition. The groceries order is more specific and contains fair trade provisions which are not specifically covered by the Competition Act 2002, such as a ban on the selling of grocery goods at below net invoice price, boycotting and hello money. This ensures that similar terms are available to all suppliers.
I am currently reviewing the 1987 order and will take into account, so far as may be appropriate, the code of practice and compliance audit concerned.
