Madam, - The Competition Authority recently proposed the removal of the 18-year ban on below-cost selling of most food and drink products in Ireland. It is being supported by the Consumer Strategy Group and the National Consumer Agency. Removal of the ban on below-cost selling, contained in the Groceries Order 1987, would have major repercussions for our way of life.
The Competition Authority puts the case for removal in a highly simplistic manner quoting an unreal figure for annual savings of €481 per household, and making misleading comparisons between recent inflation rates for food and clothing. No reference is made to the implications for the domestic food industry and the social and environmental impacts, nor to the reasons for below-cost selling bans in other EU countries.
The proposal appears to be ideologically driven. Have people forgotten why the ban was introduced in the first place? The issues at stake are much too important for simplistic solutions. - Yours, etc,
DAVID DILLON, Blackrock, Co Dublin.