asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the number of (a) prosecutions; (b) convictions; (c) cases pending; and (d) cases reported (i) to his Department; and (ii) to the examiner of restrictive practices in relation to the ban on below-cost advertising of grocery goods under the 1981 order.
Written Answers. - Below-Cost Advertising of Grocery Goods.
51.
Limerick East): The relevant figures are as follows: (a) Prosecutions, 11; (b) Convictions, 8; (c) Cases pending, 11; (d) Cases reported: (i) to Minister, 11, (ii) to Examiner, 45.
The examiner investigated 75 suspected breaches of the order; 45 of these were complaints while the remainder, 30 were through his own monitoring. Twenty-seven reports of alleged breaches were sent to the Minister by the examiner.
52.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the number of personnel involved in operating and enforcing the ban on below-cost advertising of grocery goods under the 1981 order.
Limerick East): The number of staff of the examiner of restrictive practices who are engaged in work relating to the detection, investigation and reporting to me of breaches of article 12 of the Restrictive Practices (Groceries) Order, 1981, which relates to below cost advertising, is four. This work is additional to the other duties of the staff concerned.