THe Irish government has ordered citizens to destroy all pork products that were produced since the 1st of September 2008, citing the possibility of dioxins harmful to humans as the reason. The reports state the investigation was discussed at a meeting of the relevant ministers last monday 1st December 2008 yet it still took a week before the public was informed.
THe reports are very basic and do not have any reference to how consumers are to be compensated for purchases they have made. THe reports only state "all pork and bacon products", however there are other pork products that people may not be aware of.
My limited knowledge knows that, ham, pudding (black and white), bacon ribs, pickled ribs, rashers (all types),brawn,liver, sausages, gammon, salami, offal from pigs, ready meals with pork as an ingredient are derived from pigs and these should also be destroyed. A full list of all products derived from pigs should be immediately published.
I can,t think of any more so if you can add to this list then please do so and I will publish them.
One question remains for me and it,s this, Why did it take from September to December before the problem was discovered?
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Wrong Wrong Wrong
How can the head of the National Consumer Agency not understand that we do have price controls, and then appear on the National public service television making an incorrect statement without being challenged by the journalist conducting the investigation. In recent weeks the regulators of the vital utilities services, Electricity, Gas, and Telecommunoicatiosn granted signiicant price increases to these companies. The national consumer agency clearly could compel these companies, but somehow she does not understand that.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
It,s a Sterling difference.
There has been a bit of a hullabaloo here in the Republic since it was discovered that companies operating in the two jurisdictions are charging more for their goods in the Republic. It’s been slow media days in the past few weeks and somebody got hold of this and they have now tried to make it an issue. Fair play to those that are trying to raise awareness and get things done for consumers. However my explanation for this is set out below.
The reason for the price differences between Companies trading in the UK, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is the statutory consumer agencies.
The traders in Northern Ireland are governed by the UK regulations and as these bodies have real power to prosecute for various offences the companies have a real fear of them and would not want to lose their profits by breaching these regulations.
The price they charge in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland have to be identical irregardless of the local trading conditions, i.e. they can’t charge more for goods that have to be transported to the Highlands in Scotland or the High Street in Belfast etc. Those excuses just would not wash with UK authorities, and so the reality is if you want to do business there then your price is the same all over.
They also have real competition from other companies and therefore their prices are also restricted by the amount the competition is charging for goods and services.
As consumers in the Republic of Ireland we benefit from the ability to travel to the six counties by road to avail of the bargains to be had by shopping in these companies Northern Ireland outlets.
We have good regulations here for the clear pricing of products however if you go into any store it’s almost impossible to ascertain the price of goods. Below you’ll find 3 photos of how Tesco prices their goods for the consumer’s information. In these cases the Scooby Doo DVDs are €5 each or 3 for €25. The Analyse This DVD is €5 each or 3 for €25 and the True Romance DVD is €6 each or 3 for €25.These are not photoshopped photos, they are real and are from Tescos Clearwater store in Finglas. I’ve no doubt that the wonderful Ladies on the Tescos checkouts would rectify this for you, but the reality is I,m supposed to know how mush they are going to cost me before I get there. Somebody printed these price tags by mistake (obviously) and most likely the management would need to look at training their price tags printers properly.
Argos, Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Dixons, et al make good profits here, and if they could not do so, then they would not be here. These companies use their economies of scale to negotiate prices from suppliers centrally. They do not have different prices for goods coming to Ireland and other prices for goods going to other places; they also negotiate in the currency of their head office i.e. in this case Sterling as they are UK companies.
Therefore if you take this as a given they should charge the same price no matter what jurisdiction they are in.
However the reality is that the National Consumer Agency and the other statutory quangos have no power of any significance to regulate these companies on behalf of the consumer.
What does amaze me though is the amount of broadcast media jumping on this bandwagon. These media companies all have restricted competition in the guise of licences to broadcast. They seem to think it’s more important to highlight the overcharging issue and attempt to find a reason for that, instead of insisting the government regulate these companies properly on behalf of the consumers. If this was done then maybe the consumers could use what limited power they have to actually shop around and obtain the best prices.
I notice none of the so called respectable broadcast media organisations are calling for this. Is it a case of not tormenting these companies in case they refuse to advertise with them? There have been calls for clear information to be made available to consumers and I agree with that, however along with it we also need statutory agencies that have real teeth to monitor on our behalf. Even the Minister for Justice is today reported to have said that consumers get real and shop around. It sounds like Let them eat cake to me.
In the case of the main National Public service broadcaster, the company that has a true monopoly in the name of the licence fee, there presenters seem to think that everybody else should work for nothing to supply goods and services while they live in there Ivory tower lording it over the rest of us. As public service broadcasters they should be investigating these issues to force the Government to regulate these companies properly. Will they ever do that? The answer is no, and the reason is they would have to expose themselves as a total monopoly with their index linked annual licence fee increases.
The other broadcast media organisations have a major monkey on their backs because they do not get any share of the licence fees, and therefore have to compete in the advertising markets to secure their incomes. The advertising market here can be totally distorted by RTE by it’s dominance over Television and Radio broadcasts. As far as I know they do not abuse their position, and they play by a set of rules, however that also implies a cartel in the broadcast advertising market. However has the Competition authority ever defended those companies that have to compete with the State broadcaster? I don’t think so, and I don’t think it ever will. The reason for that we will most likely never know. It,s the same reason I suspect that we only have one Competition Authority, it,s one of the unsolved mysteries of the Universe.
Same Bat time, Same Bat channel, next time.
The reason for the price differences between Companies trading in the UK, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is the statutory consumer agencies.
The traders in Northern Ireland are governed by the UK regulations and as these bodies have real power to prosecute for various offences the companies have a real fear of them and would not want to lose their profits by breaching these regulations.
The price they charge in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland have to be identical irregardless of the local trading conditions, i.e. they can’t charge more for goods that have to be transported to the Highlands in Scotland or the High Street in Belfast etc. Those excuses just would not wash with UK authorities, and so the reality is if you want to do business there then your price is the same all over.
They also have real competition from other companies and therefore their prices are also restricted by the amount the competition is charging for goods and services.
As consumers in the Republic of Ireland we benefit from the ability to travel to the six counties by road to avail of the bargains to be had by shopping in these companies Northern Ireland outlets.
We have good regulations here for the clear pricing of products however if you go into any store it’s almost impossible to ascertain the price of goods. Below you’ll find 3 photos of how Tesco prices their goods for the consumer’s information. In these cases the Scooby Doo DVDs are €5 each or 3 for €25. The Analyse This DVD is €5 each or 3 for €25 and the True Romance DVD is €6 each or 3 for €25.These are not photoshopped photos, they are real and are from Tescos Clearwater store in Finglas. I’ve no doubt that the wonderful Ladies on the Tescos checkouts would rectify this for you, but the reality is I,m supposed to know how mush they are going to cost me before I get there. Somebody printed these price tags by mistake (obviously) and most likely the management would need to look at training their price tags printers properly.
Argos, Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Dixons, et al make good profits here, and if they could not do so, then they would not be here. These companies use their economies of scale to negotiate prices from suppliers centrally. They do not have different prices for goods coming to Ireland and other prices for goods going to other places; they also negotiate in the currency of their head office i.e. in this case Sterling as they are UK companies.
Therefore if you take this as a given they should charge the same price no matter what jurisdiction they are in.
However the reality is that the National Consumer Agency and the other statutory quangos have no power of any significance to regulate these companies on behalf of the consumer.
What does amaze me though is the amount of broadcast media jumping on this bandwagon. These media companies all have restricted competition in the guise of licences to broadcast. They seem to think it’s more important to highlight the overcharging issue and attempt to find a reason for that, instead of insisting the government regulate these companies properly on behalf of the consumers. If this was done then maybe the consumers could use what limited power they have to actually shop around and obtain the best prices.
I notice none of the so called respectable broadcast media organisations are calling for this. Is it a case of not tormenting these companies in case they refuse to advertise with them? There have been calls for clear information to be made available to consumers and I agree with that, however along with it we also need statutory agencies that have real teeth to monitor on our behalf. Even the Minister for Justice is today reported to have said that consumers get real and shop around. It sounds like Let them eat cake to me.
In the case of the main National Public service broadcaster, the company that has a true monopoly in the name of the licence fee, there presenters seem to think that everybody else should work for nothing to supply goods and services while they live in there Ivory tower lording it over the rest of us. As public service broadcasters they should be investigating these issues to force the Government to regulate these companies properly. Will they ever do that? The answer is no, and the reason is they would have to expose themselves as a total monopoly with their index linked annual licence fee increases.
The other broadcast media organisations have a major monkey on their backs because they do not get any share of the licence fees, and therefore have to compete in the advertising markets to secure their incomes. The advertising market here can be totally distorted by RTE by it’s dominance over Television and Radio broadcasts. As far as I know they do not abuse their position, and they play by a set of rules, however that also implies a cartel in the broadcast advertising market. However has the Competition authority ever defended those companies that have to compete with the State broadcaster? I don’t think so, and I don’t think it ever will. The reason for that we will most likely never know. It,s the same reason I suspect that we only have one Competition Authority, it,s one of the unsolved mysteries of the Universe.
Same Bat time, Same Bat channel, next time.
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