Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is right that people doing their shopping every week do not want to hear comparisons with what is happening to prices in France and Spain. I only raised that issue because we asked the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, to look at this and come back to us with recommendations as to suggestions that have been made on price caps, the State fixing prices and so on. It recommended against taking such actions. It referenced what is being done in other European countries and compared Ireland's food retail sector with the same sector in other European countries since 2015. The commission made the case that, by and large, competition has worked quite well for consumers here in terms of product choice.