Groceries Order 'flawed and outdated', says Minister

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin has said the Groceries Order, which prevents retailers from selling goods below their wholesale invoice price, is flawed and outdated.

The Minister also said at the weekend that the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise and Small Business was "wrong" to call for the retention of the measure "come what may".

His comments came as the new National Consumer Agency, which the Minister said would give a voice to consumers in debates such as the future of the order, prepares to hold its first full meeting today.

The Minister's comments in an interview were being interpreted in political circles last night as a signal that the order would be changed as part of a current review, although the exact nature of any amendment has not yet been decided.

Mr Martin's comments fuelled speculation that a compromise proposal was under consideration by the two Government parties.

Such a compromise would allow retailers to pass on to consumers off-invoice discounts which they receive from their suppliers, while retaining the ban on selling goods below the monthly invoice price.

Such a move is believed to be supported by some members of the PDs. However, sources close to Mr Martin said last night that he was awaiting a report from department officials on the future of the order before making any decision. This report is due in the next fortnight.

Mr Martin launched a public consultation process on the future of the order several months ago following the report of the Government's consumer strategy group which called for the measure to be revoked. It estimated that off-invoice discounts were worth up to 18 per cent to retailers.

The current review has generated intense political lobbying, with both the independent grocers' body RGDATA and employer's group Ibec coming out strongly against any move to revoke the measure. The Competition Authority and the interim National Consumer Agency support reform of the order.

The order and its impact on prices was also brought to public attention by the consumer advocate Eddie Hobbs in his television programme Rip Off Republic.

Speaking on Saturday View on RTÉ Radio at the weekend, Mr Martin said he believed that the Groceries Order was "flawed and outdated". The Minister said he was somewhat taken aback that the Oireachtas Committee, prior to the completion of the report of the consumer strategy group or his own public consultation process, had urged that the measure should be retained "come what may".

He said that he thought the members of the committee, including those from Fianna Fáil were "wrong" in this regard.

Mr Martin said the world had changed dramatically since the order was introduced in 1987.