With various solutions under discussion addressing concerns regarding the increase of input costs in the farming sector, it appears as though the first steps in creating a food ombudsman appear to be in its infancy stage. According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the office is a step closer to establishing it. Approval from Cabinet is expected on Tuesday, while Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue says that they will prioritise the drafting of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022.
The bill is set to establish a new, independent, statutory authority known as the Office for Fairness and Transparency in the Agri-Food Supply Chain. The objective of the office is to promote fairness and transparency in the agricultural and food-supply chain in the following ways:
- By performing a price or market analysis and reporting function. This is to meet the requirement of the European Commission to strengthen agricultural and food market transparency by improving the collection of statistical data necessary for the analysis of price formation mechanisms along the agricultural and food-supply chain
- The new office will also be responsible for ensuring that fairness is observed in the agricultural and food-supply chain by becoming the state’s designated enforcement authority for enforcing the rules on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food-supply chain
With the office expected to be passed through the Oireachtas before the summer, it will be led by a board and will have a chief executive officer.
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