Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister mentioned wages. It is worth bearing in mind that while corporate profits might be ripping away, wages are not. In real terms, according to Unite Investigates, a division of the Unite trade union, wages are falling by an average of €76 weekly. We can see this from the perspective of consumers who are seeing their wages falling by an average of €76 while also seeing that profits are high. At the beginning of March, the ECB highlighted that corporate profiteering contributes twice as much to price rises as wage increases. Wages, therefore, are nowhere near what the corporate profits are. Indeed, the ECB is flagging this as an issue.

What are the Minister and his Department doing to ensure corporate profiteering is not contributing to food and grocery prices increases in respect of large supermarkets and the big food conglomerates and processors? I do not mean asking them nicely by saying, "Sure lads, you aren't doing this." I mean asking what specifically is being done in this regard.

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