Below-cost selling ban may remain - Martin

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Martin, has said that a forthcoming report from the Government's consumer policy group will not necessarily lead to an end to the ban on below-cost selling. The report is expected to be completed within a month.

Speaking in Davos, where he is attending the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, Mr Martin told The Irish Times that any change to the rules governing below-cost selling would require primary legislation, adding that the views of all sides in the debate would be taken into account.

"There are no guaranteed dividends on this. Say you got rid of below-cost selling. There's no guarantee it would actually have an impact on prices. The producer lobby are very concerned about it. They feel it hands a stronger weapon to the retail side... There is a genuine issue there that you can't just discard. So that is in the mix in terms of one's assessment of the situation," he said.

The Consumer Strategy Group, which was set up last year, is expected to recommend either scrapping or radically overhauling the Groceries Order, which bans retailers from selling certain foods for less than their wholesale cost.

A number of groups, including the Competition Authority, have called for the order to be dropped, arguing that below-cost selling could help to reduce prices for consumers.

Mr Martin predicted that the report, which is expected within a month, will provoke "a good, vigorous, informed debate" on below-cost selling.

He said that the Government was considering the establishment of a statutory body to give consumers a stronger voice in policy-making.

"Historically, when governments made decisions to do with commerce or planning guidelines on IKEA for example, there really wasn't an opportunity for the consumers' voice to be heard. There wasn't really a mechanism through which it could be heard strongly enough. I would be anxious, and I think the Government would be anxious, to create the structures that would facilitate the giving of that voice," he said.

Mr Martin is in Davos for meetings with business executives and government figures from around the world and will today take part in a discussion of the outsourcing of jobs to emerging economies, such as China and India.

He said that, instead of complaining about the phenomenon, Irish people should realise that outsourcing can provide opportunities for Irish companies.

"It's not all doom and gloom... If Irish companies gain a presence even through outsourcing, they are also establishing a better linkage with that country in terms of actually accessing the markets for their products. We have to see it as an opportunity rather than as a threat," he said.

Mr Martin said that his meetings in Davos and a recent visit to the US had reinforced his confidence that multinational companies remain convinced the Republic is a good place to invest.