Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

If that is not ruling out price controls, I am not sure what is, and that has been done just as the meeting is about to take place.

I know what happens in a capitalist economy because I live in one. I experience the reality of the people who come to see me and are now dependent on food banks. Around one in seven families in this State is now dependent on food banks. Why? It is true that there are a variety of factors but the increase in the prices of the basic groceries they need to survive is a crucial one. Profiteering is not just one of a myriad of factors that lies behind it; it is the number one factor, the dominant factor. ECB research suggests that two thirds of the price increases we are seeing is a consequence of the profiteering. That is there in black and white in the profits of the various corporations in the grocery sector and the big agrifood in this country.

To come back to the basic point, what is going to happen if the retailers do not reduce their prices? The Minister of State is quoted as saying they have to reduce their prices within six weeks. What is the stick? If the Government is not going to rule out price controls, will it rule them in? Will it say that if the retailers do not reduce their prices within six weeks, it will use the power at its disposal to introduce price controls to bring down the prices of essential goods?

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