Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann: acknowledges that:

— unsustainably high grocery and food bills continue to put workers and families under significant financial pressure; and

— this pressure has been exacerbated by the failure of the Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath TD, and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Pascal Donohoe TD, to provide certainty to workers and families in respect of energy bills and mortgage relief from rising interest rates;

notes that:

— grocery prices have soared by almost 17 per cent over the past year, with inflation in Irish supermarkets at the highest level ever recorded by retail analysts Kantar across the past 12 months;

— the latest figures for the 12-week period to 16th April show the rate of food inflation is 16.6 per cent; and

— this means the average annual grocery bill is set to rise by approximately €1,200 if consumers maintain the same shopping habits;

furthermore notes that:

— the sustained historic levels of grocery inflation underscore the need for the yet to be established An Rialálaí Agraibhia (Agri-Food Regulator) to be empowered to investigate anti-competitive practices in the agri-food supply chain; and

— the primary function of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), as defined in Section (8)(1)(a) of the Consumer Protection Act 2007, is to promote and protect the interests and welfare of consumers;

condemns:

— the failure of this Government to take decisive and urgent action while food prices soar;

— the decision by the Government in Budget 2023 to provide rate increases to social welfare recipients and pensioners significantly short of what was required to cope with inflation, despite proposals brought forward by Sinn Féin and others who recognised the need for greater weekly social welfare increases; and

— the inadequacy of Government measures which has prompted growing reliance on food banks; and

calls on the Government to:

— do all in its power to ensure savings made by supermarkets and large food retailers in respect of falling input costs are passed onto consumers through lower grocery prices;

— instruct the CCPC to investigate possible price gouging in the retail food and grocery sector;

— further increase weekly social welfare and pension rates to stem the flow of families and pensioners into food poverty; and

— amend the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022 to give the proposed Agri-Food Regulator powers to investigate anti-competitive practices in the agri-food supply chain.

We are bringing forward this motion this evening because of the cost-of-living crisis that has been challenging many families and individuals not just for the past year but for several years. In many respects we started talking about the cost-of-living crisis in the context of energy but it is much wider than that. It comes back to public services and the double-charging that can go on. It relates to groceries and many other items as well as energy. At this time, the focus relates to a large extent to the challenges people face at the till. I am dealing with countless families day in and day out in Cork who are really struggling under relentless pressure from food costs, energy costs, rent and mortgage costs. There seems to be no end in sight and no respite for these families.

The Government has failed to provide certainty to households over their energy bills, refused to freeze rents for renters or provide relief to hard-pressed mortgage holders and continues to sit on its hands as food prices soar. People have been put to the pin of their collar. The Government does not seem to understand the urgency that is needed, and there is no coherent strategy in place to combat spiralling costs.

The time to act is now, not to continue to sit on its hands, waiting until the budget in October as food and energy prices continue to soar. In particular, families are feeling the pressure at the till. The weekly shop is going up by €20 or €30 and more for many families. People are going to the till, wondering if there is enough on the card to pay for the shopping and trying to decide what they will leave behind if they do not have enough. Will they leave behind the washing powder, the packet of mince or the stuff for the kids' school lunches? These are the basic decisions people need to make, fearful of that horrible feeling if it comes up, "payment declined". There always have been families who face these pressures, but it is happening increasingly now as they feel the strain of increased energy costs, childcare costs and now groceries. These are the basics - food to feed themselves and their families, detergent to clean clothes, basic household goods. Nearly all of them are increasing now and people are feeling it.

We are calling on Government to do all in its power to ensure savings made by supermarkets and large food retailers in respect to falling input costs are passed on to consumers through lower grocery prices. We need the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, to investigate this. People badly need a break from this constant barrage of sky rocketing costs and the Government must act on this now.

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