Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an díospóireacht seo augs roimh Theachtaí Shinn Féin agus Theachtaí Pháirtí an Lucht Oibre atá anseo agus a ghlac páirt sa díospóireacht tábhachtach seo. Tuigeann gach Comhalta sa Teach seo agus sa Teach eile an brú atá ar dhaoine faoi chúrsaí airgeadais ag an nóiméad seo agus faoi chúrsaí praghsanna sna siopaí. Tá an Rialtas ag déanamh an-iarracht an fhadhb seo a réiteach, ag obair le gach taobh den Teach. Is é sin an fáth nach mbeimid ag dul in aghaidh an rúin seo agus an fáth go bhfuilimid ag obair chomh dian ar na cúrsaí seo ag an bpointe seo.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the debate this evening and I thank all Deputies who took part in it. The Government remains very committed to helping to protect the most vulnerable families and businesses from the cost-of-living challenges that face them at the moment. This Government has taken unprecedented actions to date to alleviate, to the extent that it can, the pressures being felt by people, families and businesses across the country. To reiterate, this work includes having introduced a suite of measures worth €2.4 billion in 2022 to assist households with their energy costs, and the cost-of-living budget provided for a further €2.5 billion in one-off measures to support households with rising costs. As a Government, we have made it clear that we will continue to monitor this situation and keep such supports under review in the context of budget 2024, the work for which is getting under way. I thank all Deputies for their contribution this evening but I acknowledge in particular Deputy Nash's contribution. In his time in the Department, he established the retail forum, which I refer to ahead of our meeting tomorrow, and I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, will take on board the Deputy's messages this evening to that forum.

There are a range of supports, in energy costs, business supports and direct business assistance, that we have provided to assist citizens and businesses, but I will focus in my concluding remarks on a number of issues, in particular the role of the CCPC and what it can do in this area.

Mindful of the cost-of-living increases, the Government will ask the CCPC to continue to prioritise action against unlawful practices that have a direct effect on increasing consumer prices or which exploit a more inflationary environment. The CCPC is also developing its online money tool system to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of consumers and reflect current industry offerings. The Department welcomes this more visible and active role by the CCPC in reminding consumers of their rights and, in particular, reminding businesses of their consumer and competition obligations. In 2022, the CCPC conducted 76 in-store compliance inspections in respect of different pricing requirements in a variety of sectors.

This included 19 petrol stations.

A particular focus for inspection activity in 2022 was the grocery retail sector. This is the sector with the greatest share of household expenditure, as noted by previous speakers. Some 25 inspections were conducted across the five largest retailers. The CCPC found broad compliance following its inspections of those retailers. It found that those in the sector were very engaged and constructive in striving to meet their obligations. The CCPC is an independent statutory agency. It continues to conduct inspections in 2023 in the context of different pricing requirements in a variety of sectors. It also continues to find broad compliance and engagement. When the CCPC receives complaints in respect of prices, it assesses them to see if they indicate a possible breach of one of the areas of competition or consumer protection law it is tasked with enforcing. The CCPC also acts on its own initiative where it suspects there may have been a breach. I note the recent reductions by supermarket chains in respect of butter and milk products. I also caution that the Government has introduced and is finalising the journey of legislation relating to the agricultural and food supply chain. Farm families should not have to pay for the reductions in question. They should be paid out of the profits of the retailers.

The establishment of the new office of an rialálaí agraibhia, the agrifood regulator, was a key programme for Government commitment. The latter will be a new independent statutory body under the aegis of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It will be a strong advocate for farmers and small food suppliers. The regulator will have real powers and will rigorously enforce laws relating to unfair trading practices. It will be a guardian for those who produce food domestically and will bring much needed and greater transparency to the agricultural and food supply chain. Such transparency is very much at the heart of this evening's debate.

The meeting of the retail forum tomorrow will proceed. The Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, and I will be here on Thursday morning to respond to parliamentary questions. Deputy O'Reilly has tabled a question about this matter. The Government will continue to work to ensure that families get direct supports to assist them during this crisis and ensure that businesses, and small businesses in particular, get support through a range of schemes. We will continue, in the context of budget preparations, to focus on the subject matter of this debate and on the information that has been provided.

See this speech in context