The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business is to contact the managing director of Dunnes Stores, Mrs Margaret Heffernan, after the company failed to appear before it yesterday.

Members said Dunnes Stores had "snubbed" the committee which issued an invitation to the company to discuss the issue of superstores.

Consultants appointed by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, are currently considering the issue and are expected to report in early March.

One member Senator Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael) said he hoped Mrs Heffernan wasn't "giving the committee a handbagging".

Dunnes Stores said it was still considering the issue of superstores and as a result could not discuss the issue publicly with the committee.

"These matters are still under discussion," said a short letter to the committee from the chief operations officer, Mr Andrew Street.

Another committee member, Ms Nora Owen (Fine Gael), said the committee cannot complete its work without hearing a submission from Dunnes Stores. Another member, Mr David Stanton (Fine Gael), said he received "little co-operation" from the company when compiling a report on Sunday trading for the committee.

The chairman, Mr Ivor Callelly (Fianna Fail), said that Mrs Heffernan or any of her colleagues "cannot be compelled to come in here, but I would hope the company would see the benefits of appearing before us".

Dunnes Stores competitors - Tesco and Superquinn - have already appeared before the committee.

Mr Callelly said the committee would be producing a report "at the end of its deliberations" and this would be forwarded to the Minister for the Environment and the consultants studying the issue of superstores. He said it would indicate areas where legislation was needed.