Having received just about as brusque a slap in the face as it is possible for a regulator to dish out, the bets are that Senator Feargal Quinn has not yet given up his fight to persuade the public and the Government that he should be allowed to sideswipe the Grocery Order Act with a coach and four, if not actually run them through it.

For one of this nation's legislators to say they had created an entity - in this case, Retail Logistics, which received the support payments while being charged roughly the same in management fees by Superquinn - as a formula to keep their business within the law is something that would wipe the smile off the faces of most of his customers, if not the indefatigable man himself. Maybe he should turn his attention to persuading his fellow legislators to amend or throw out the legislation if it is as ineffective in creating a level playing field as he claims.