A summary of the Oireachtas Committee's recommendations
• A comprehensive quarterly survey should be carried out on shopping basket prices in multiples, voluntary and independent stores by the office of the director of consumer affairs or similar organisation to inform consumers of best value.
• The necessary resources should be allocated by the EU statistics service, Eurostat, to ensure that the member state price level index surveys provide accurate comparisons of retail prices in each state.
• The development of the artisan and speciality food sector should be facilitated by the Minister for Agriculture.
• The ban on below-cost selling of grocery products should remain in place.
• The prohibitions on the giving of advertising allowances and "hello money" by supermarkets and wholesalers should continue to apply.
• Fresh products should not be subject to the ban on below-cost selling at this time.
• There should be no change in the cap on the size of supermarkets contained in the retail planning guidelines and the cap should not be subject to change by ministerial decision.
• The retail planning guidelines should be examined with a view to removing any misunderstanding in relation to discount food stores.
• The planning guidelines should specifically emphasise the importance of competition between retailers and of a choice of retail outlet being available to consumers.
• The Minister for Enterprise should establish a costs group to bring about a reduction in business overheads.
• The CSO should prepare a quarterly index of movements in business overhead costs (both goods and services).
• Companies operating in important sectors of the economy such as the grocery trade should be required to publish turnover and net profit statistics.
• The labels of all food products sold in Ireland should show the country where the product was produced and where it was processed (if different).