Code of practice aims to regulate power of supermarket multiples

A NEW code of practice will be introduced on a voluntary basis within weeks to regulate the increasing concentration of power of the supermarket multiples. It will become statutory under new legislation to be moved by Tánaiste Mary Coughlan.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Brendan Smith confirmed the move at the Irish Farmers Association annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday. The IFA earlier urged the Government to establish a statutory supermarket code of practice with an independent Ombudsman office. It said it had already proposed such a move in response to a consultation request by the Tánaiste.

John Bryan, newly elected IFA president, who repeated the call at the AGM, said politicians at home and in Europe must rebalance the food marketing chain to ensure that farm families can get a viable income from the marketplace. He said the Government must introduce and enforce this code and it must also work to secure effective legislation in Europe.