merrion street

The Horitculture Action Group, set up by the Department of Agriculture in December 2010, delivered its 25-page report to Minister of State Shane McEntee.

The report made the following key recommendations:

• The Joint Labour Committee (JLC) be abolished and minimum labour rates be brought in line with key competitor countries
• The introduction of a statutory Code of Practise for the retail sector and the appointment of an ombudsman to oversee its provisions.
• The introduction of a mechanism whereby the amount of own brand product on a retail shelf is limited to 50%
• The re introduction of the ban on below cost selling including fresh produce

The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Shane McEntee, said he endorsed the Group’s recommendations in relation to creating a more level playing field in the retail sector...

My colleague, Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is currently considering the recommendations of a major report on the role of supermarkets and I will be writing to him emphasising the importance of greater statutory oversight on retail multiples because of their negative impact on an industry that supports 6,000 full-time equivalent jobs in primary production and a further 10,000 in ‘value added’ jobs.

The Minister of State continued...

I also note with favour the Group’s emphasis on the urgency of promoting and facilitating more collaborative initiatives within horticulture,

This is something I feel strongly about and will be working to promote. Collaboration and co-operation between producers increases their purchasing power for inputs as well as their selling power to the big supermarket chains. I welcome their recommendation that State grant funding to the industry should continue and I will be working hard to achieve that in the current Government Expenditure Review.