Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I will start with some questions. Will the cost-of-living crisis lead to an increase in the number of people who steal food from shops in order to eat or provide for their families? If so, how will the law react? Will people be prosecuted? In Britain, there is public debate around this question. Why is there no such debate here? Earlier this month, the new chief inspector of the constabulary in England and Wales, Andy Cooke, said the cost-of-living crisis will trigger an increase in crime and that officers should use their discretion in deciding whether to prosecute people who steal in order to eat. The following day, his views were challenged by Tory Minister Kit Malthouse, who said that crime causes poverty, not vice versa, and urged prosecutions.

I believe crimes are being committed in our supermarkets, by the billionaire owners of the major chains. I believe it is criminal for Tesco to make profits of €2.2 billion, pre-tax, in the UK and the Republic of Ireland in 2021, which is double the profits for 2020, at a time when some people are unable to feed their families or are forced to choose between heating and eating. It is not illegal for these chains to charge the prices they charge but it should be. The Government should make it so by using its powers under sections 61 and 62 of the Consumer Protection Act 2007 to control prices.

I also do not believe a parent who steals a packet of nappies for their child should be prosecuted. To be crystal clear, I am not advocating for shoplifting; I am opposing prosecution in cases such as those I have outlined. Having said that, if things keep going the way they are going, I wonder whether the "Can't pay, won't pay" movement from 1970s Italy, where people loaded their trolleys and walked out of supermarkets as an organised group without paying the price increases might not happen here in the future. In the meantime, I advocate for a different form of mass protest. I hope people take to the streets in large numbers to demand a €15 minimum wage, a freeze on food prices and legislation to cut rents. They will have opportunities in Dublin, Cork and around the country on 18 June. I hope workers put in claims for pay increases that match inflation and back that up with ballots for industrial action. Inflation is class warfare, with the rich robbing the poor. It is time for ordinary people to unite and act in defence of our own interests.

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