Retail Ireland has welcomed the fact that the Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014, which was published earlier today, "does not provide for an expensive, cumbersome and bureaucratic code of conduct."
Commenting on the Bill, which outlines a series of 'regulations' governing grocery goods transactions, but stops short of introducing a Code of Practice, Director of Retail Ireland Stephen Lynam said: "Retail Ireland has always been supportive of fair practices in the food supply chain and we are committed to the provisions of the recently introduced European voluntary code of practice in this area.
"Our position has always been that retailers have nothing to fear from sensible regulation. As such, we welcome the fact that the Bill does not provide for an expensive, cumbersome and bureaucratic code of conduct.
"While we continue to study the contents of the Bill, and its impact on retailers, we urge the Minister to ensure that all decisions ultimately made under the Bill are reasonable and proportionate. Given the very narrow margins retailers are operating under, any move that would increase business costs would likely lead to increased prices for consumers."
