Seanad report:Price control did not work, but gave rise to certain unacceptable practices, Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin said.
Terry Leyden (FF) had asked if certain provisions had encouraged car retailers to form a cartel. He noted that the Consumer Protection Bill provided for the revocation of the Prices (Stabilisation of Profit Margins of Retailers of Motor Cars) Order and the Consumer Information (Diesel and Petrol) (Reduction in Retail Price) Order. "In light of the Competition Authority's case regarding the sale of Ford motor cars, did the existing provision encourage the retailers to form some sort of cartel to retain their margin?" he said.
Mr Martin: "These were anti-competitive measures that could facilitate the fixing of prices. Therefore, their removal is important."
Mr Leyden: "I am surprised the retailers in question did not quote those provisions in defence of their cartel-type operation. It is interesting they are being revoked now, probably as a result of the case taken by the Competition Authority."
Mr Martin: "In general, anything that endeavoured to control prices is being removed. The Bill repeals the type of price controls we had in the 1970s and 1980s because price control does not work, but gives rise to certain unacceptable practices."
The Bill was passed.
A "silencing clause" in the proposed hospital consultants' contract was profoundly wrong, Brendan Ryan (Lab) said. It would require consultants not to criticise the services that were provided.
"That is the most appalling attempt to silence the people who have endeavoured most effectively to tell us what is wrong in A&E and what is wrong with neurological and psychiatric services. They want to silence them all. That is a profound wrong and should not be allowed."
Mr Ryan said the Health and Safety Authority had announced last year that it was starting a campaign about safety at work in public bodies. "My understanding is that they have been told to back off." He asked the leader of the House to inquire who had given this instruction and when it had been given
Older Americans were deciding not to holiday in Ireland because of restrictions on the hiring of cars, Mary White (FF) said. Seventy-year-olds found that they could not hire the car of their choice while those over 75 could not hire at all. This was a very serious issue for people of Irish origin who wanted to continue to come here.
Martin Mansergh (FF): "The Senator is right."
Ms White said the Government should take a leaf out of the New York state regulations which prohibited discrimination on the basis of age when it came to the rental of motor vehicles.