Supporters of Order call for 'fair trade legislation'

Industry reaction: Industry groups campaigning for the retention of the Groceries Order have warned that consumers will suffer from its abolition unless remedial action is taken on predatory pricing.

Conceding defeat in the long-running battle over the Order, the retailers' group RGDATA said it would be seeking additional amendments to the Competition Act to encourage the Competition Authority "to investigate complaints with greater urgency and to be vigorous in ensuring that there is fair competition in the retail grocery trade".

Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDII), a part of the employers' group Ibec, also called for the introduction of new "fair trade legislation", adding the abolition of the Order "will not deliver for consumers". Anti-poverty groups which had campaigned for the retention of the Order were also disappointed with the decision, saying multiples were refusing to enter the market in poorer, less profitable areas.

However, the National Consumer Agency (NCA) and the Competition Authority, both of which campaigned for the abolition of the Order, welcomed the decision.

Declan Purcell, director of the Competition Authority's advocacy division, said it was delighted the Government had removed "one of the most anti-consumer and protectionist devices from the Irish statute book. The Groceries Order pushes up food prices in Ireland, and is against the interest of consumers and the economy."

Ann Fitzgerald, chairwoman of the Government-sponsored NCA, described the decision as "a triumph for the Irish consumer". Noting that the NCA was shortly to launch a national consumer awareness campaign, she said it believed the Groceries Order was keeping prices to consumers higher than they needed to be.

Anti-poverty groups St Vincent de Paul (SVP), Crosscare and the Combat Poverty Agency said "wider structural changes" were needed if low-income households were to benefit.

Audry Deane of SVP said: "Unless there is a clear focus on remedying the infrastructural barriers which prevent poorer people accessing cheaper outlets, the 'rich-poor divide' will deepen with long term economic and societal consequences."

Putting a brave face on its defeat, RGDATA director general Tara Buckley said it welcomed the decision of the Minister for Trade to strengthen the Competition Act to ban predatory behaviour in the retail grocery trade.

She added that the Order had served the Irish people well and had "left a positive legacy" in bringing consumers choice, lower prices and competition since 1987. Rosemary Garth of the FDII said the abolition of the Order would undermine prospects for the food industry and the independent retail sector. "In the future consumer choice will be reduced, local availability will be reduced and local employment will be reduced."