RTÉ radio presenter Marian Finucane is to replace newly elected MEP Ms Maireád McGuinness as chairwoman of the Department of Agriculture consumer liaison panel. Olivia Kelly reports.
The panel, which brings consumer concerns to the attention of the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, has been without a chairperson since last April after Ms McGuinness announced her candidacy for Fine Gael in the European elections.
Ms McGuinness, who edited the weekly farming supplement of the Irish Independent and presented the RTÉ programme's Ear to the Ground and Celebrity Farm, has chaired the panel since it was set up in 2002.
A spokesman for the Department said Finucane was not chosen for any farming expertise she might have but because she was "a high-profile person" who "would be good at chairing the group".
The panel has not met since April because of the "uncertainty" over whether Ms McGuinness would remain as chairwoman.
It usually meets every six to seven weeks and plans a session in the very near future, the spokesman said.
The terms of reference of the panel are to liaise on general consumer and client base issues in relation to the activities of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development; and to comment on the flow of information both to and from the public.
The panel receives regular briefings from agricultural, food safety and veterinary experts on issues such as food labelling, the beef assurance scheme, food prices and environmental and animal welfare issues.
Finucane joins a panel including Mr Richard Donohue, the Consumers' Association of Ireland; Ms Breda Raggett, the Irish Countrywomen's Association; Mr Jack Nash, Irish Congress of Trade Unions; Mr Brendan Davis, Musgraves/Super Valu/ Centra; Ms Colette Coughlan, Retail Grocery, Dairy and Allied Traders Association; Ms Breda Gavin, Superquinn; Ms Belinda Sullivan, Tesco Ireland and Mr Séamus Boland, Voluntary and Community Sector Platform.