Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Consumer Association of Ireland and the CSO figures have brought the spotlight back on to the supermarket sector. The Minister mentioned relatively weak competition and the difficulty here is that relatively weak competition is impacting on people's day to day existence. Everyone has suffered severe income cuts and they are cutting expenditure to the bone. When we see even a 2.5% increase in staple food products in a year, even if we disregard the 12% increase, it is 2.5% too much at a time when many input costs have been reduced.

Are there any plans in the Department to review the operation of the supermarket industry with a view to benchmarking it against Britain or other European competitors to see what we could do to encourage competition? Is the Minister happy with the supply arrangements that are in place and that there is proper behaviour between supermarkets and their suppliers? Is any work being done in the Department on that? There will be no new entrants to the market in its current state but what are we doing to support independent retailers in the market?

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