Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 April 2022
1871. Deputy Joe O'Brien asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on the development of the office of a National Food Ombudsman; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19820/22]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, the Programme for Government commits to the establishment of a new Authority to enforce the Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) Directive and to have a specific role in analysing and reporting on price and market data in Ireland.
On 22nd March, the Government approved the priority drafting of the General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022. The Bill will establish a new independent statutory Authority to be known as the “Office for Fairness and Transparency in the Agri-Food Supply Chain”. The General Scheme of the Bill is published on my Department’s website and is now at the detailed drafting stage which is being given priority. The General Scheme of the Bill will be sent to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the context of pre-legislative scrutiny.
This new Office will take over the enforcement function of the interim UTP Enforcement Authority, which was established under the aegis of my Department following the transposition of the UTP Directive in April of last year. I would like to assure you that, as it stands, the interim Enforcement Authority has all the necessary powers to investigate complaints under the current UTP Regulations and suppliers can submit complaints in confidence online through the Authority’s website: www.utp.gov.ie. The new Office shall also perform the market data analysis and reporting function, and will ensure the increased availability of market information with a view to strengthening the position of primary producers and other smaller suppliers in the agricultural and food supply chain. This will, I believe, bring greater transparency to the sector to help support our farm families.
This an important step in fulfilling the Programme for Government commitment to bring greater fairness, equity and transparency to the agricultural and food supply chain and I am committed to establishing the new Office as soon as possible.
