Madam, - Your leader (June 3rd) supported without question comments on Irish food prices made by Dr Fingleton. It would be interesting to learn from you, or him, how Irish food prices could attain the EU average in circumstances where manufacturers and distributors suffer higher costs across the board than any other EU country? Not to mention higher shipping costs , and, often, higher taxation.
I fear Dr Fingleton's case is seriously misleading, as it was in a recent Prime Time interview, when he compared food retailing to Aer Lingus before the advent of Ryanair. Where does he see the food retail state monopoly? Has he heard of Dunnes, Superquinn, the UK giant Tesco, SuperValu, Spar, Centra?
Does he realise that discounters Aldi and Lidl, throughout Europe the exact retailing equivalents of Ryanair, are expanding in this market, under existing legislation, at an unprecedented pace? For Dr Fingleton the purity of his competition law takes precedence over balanced and reasoned arguments about the wider issues involved. - Yours, etc.
HUGH MACKEOWN, Chairman, Musgrave Group, Airport Road, Cork.