andMr. Burton asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he is aware of the serious threat of extermination of all business premises in country towns and villages by the take-over of the supermarket; and if he will ask the Fair Trade Commission to investigate this matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Supermarket Take-over.
26.
I am not so aware. I am aware that in this country, as in other countries, traditional methods of distribution and retail trading are changing and that many shopkeepers in country towns have successfully adapted themselves to the new conditions. In so far as the changes brought about by these conditions have led to improvements in the efficiency of distribution and to reductions in the prices charged to the public, they have been of benefit to the community. I do not consider that there are any grounds for requesting the Fair Trade Commission to investigate the matter.
Is the Minister aware that most of the shopkeepers, no matter what they trade in, in small towns and villages in Ireland are not only under threat of extermination but are in many cases closed? What is the use of telling the House that that position does not obtain when everybody knows that unfortunately it is the case?
That is not a question; it is a speech.
The Deputy is grossly overstating the case. At the last census, there was a retail outlet for every 87 people in the country.
Is the Minister aware that the position has been extremely aggravated since the last census and that it is particularly in recent months that small shopkeepers in very many towns adjacent to large urban populations have been most seriously affected by this trend of people engaging in cutprice activities with the purpose of drawing custom to their other departments? It is grossly unfair to those who have been traditionally engaged in this trade and many of these small shopkeepers are in serious difficulty.
As the Deputy well knows, the pattern of trade of this kind is changing in many countries of Europe and in the United States. The Fair Trade Commission have investigated this question and they have found that a great number of small shopkeepers in certain areas have been able to face the problem to which the Deputy refers by entering into co-operative buying in bulk to reduce prices. I am not saying that can be done by all shopkeepers but at least it shows there is a parallel with the superservice shop development—the development of co-operative dealing by the shops which purchase at bulk prices.