Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has announced that Cabinet has today (Tuesday, November 29) approved the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022.

The bill, when enacted, will establish a new independent statutory authority which will be known as An Rialtóir Agraibhia (The Agri-Food Regulator).

Minister McConalogue said: "I am delighted to have received government approval today for the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill. This fulfils a Programme for Government commitment to ensure fairness, equity and transparency in the food chain by establishing a new authority.

"It will shine a light on the sector to help improve the position of the primary producer and it will also bring greater transparency and fairness," the minister added.

McConalogue added that the regulator will promote and enforce the principles of fairness and transparency for agri-food suppliers.

The new Agri-Food Regulator will implement a number of key functions:

The legislation provides for the imposition of fines concerning non-compliance with the rules of up to a maximum of €10 million or 10% of aggregate turnover, whichever is greater.

Minister McConalogue continued: "Many of the recommendations of the pre-legislative scrutiny report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, are provided for in this bill.

"Today is a good day for the food producers of Ireland as they know we are a step closer to the establishment of the Agri-Food Regulator," the minister concluded.