The Small Firms Association has accused the British-owned chemists chain Boots of breaching commitments and pledges to Irish suppliers and distributors since its takeover of the Hayes Cunningham Robinson (HCR) group of chemists three weeks ago. The accusations have been rejected by Boots.

Boots bought the HCR group for £13 million last month. According to SFA director Mr Brendan Butler, Boots has already implemented a series of changes in purchasing practices which impact negatively on Irish distributors and suppliers. He said that when the decision was announced Boots publicly stated that it would work closely with Irish suppliers and distributors. "Subsequently on January 29th, Boots wrote to Irish suppliers saying they will be retained where appropriate," he said.

Mr Butler said that his organisation has been told that orders from HCR have reduced dramatically since then. He said the only products being ordered are products that Boots has in its UK shops.

"Products on the HCR shelves, traditionally supplied by Irish distributors, are no longer being ordered and Irish distributors are having their orders reduced by between 10 per cent and 50 per cent," he said.

Mr Butler said the SFA would be meeting Boots this Friday "to determine their position on using existing channels of supply and distribution". A spokesman for Boots told The Irish Times yesterday that the company wanted to take stock of what lines HCR had before the refit of the premises is carried out, probably in March. He said the company was reviewing the product lines sold by HCR. The spokesman said some lines would obviously not fit in with the Boots health and beauty format. However, he said, the company would be retaining many lines and, in fact, would be interested in stocking them in the group's British outlets. These included an Irish made toothpaste, he said.

"We haven't changed the supply chain at all," he said, "but we have suspended supply of some lines, until we take stock of what is there."

When it bought HCR last month Boots stressed that the two companies had a "common heritage" and guaranteed the jobs of HCR's 300 staff. It also promised a "constructive relationship" with Irish suppliers.

Boots, which is based in Nottingham, has been trading since 1877. It had a turnover of £4.6 billion sterling last year and operating profits of £492 million.