Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)

With respect, we do not need the Government to continue to monitor events closely. We need it to act and we have needed it to act for a long time.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has told us that almost 50% of the people who ring them do so about groceries - almost 50%. The Barnardos report published yesterday showed that almost one fifth of children are missing out on school trips and activities because of household costs. Their families cannot afford for them to go on a school trip or take part in an activity. It is heartbreaking for a child if their friends are able to go to an activity or on a school trip and they cannot afford to do so. There is social exclusion and it is difficult for the parent to explain to the child why it is the case. How do parents tell children who only want to be able to participate in the same way as their classmates that their families cannot do that? What does that convey? Parents who are put in that situation love their children just as much as any other parent and want to provide for them just as must as any other parent, but they are not able to do so because of grocery prices and other cost-of-living prices that have gone through the roof. It is a horrible situation for any child, parent or family to be put in. The report published yesterday told us about children not being able to go to friends' birthday parties because there is no money to buy a present to enable the child to attend. That is a horrible situation for any child to be put in, to be excluded in that way. It is because these issues are not being tackled. We need more than the Government simply monitoring it closely. We need it to act.

I cannot for the life of me understand why on earth the Government will not support the Social Democrats' proposal for transparency in supermarket profits. What does it have against that measure? The Government talks about the need for evidence. The Ministers of State, Deputies Buttimer and Dillon, have talked about it and the Taoiseach talked about it yesterday. This is the evidence we need to have full transparency of what is going on with supermarket profits. It is the beginning of the evidence we need. Why on earth is the Government opposed to that? I cannot see any reason not to have full transparency of what is going on with the profits of supermarkets.

The Minister of State told the Dáil earlier that the CCPC is not looking for additional powers. In fact, the CCPC has been calling for more substantial penalties for breaches of consumer protection law. It has been calling for that for some time. It needs changes to the law so that it can impose large fines for serious offences. For example, it could be a percentage of a business's turnover. It has been crying out for that additional power but the Government has, yet again, failed to act on this.

The Minister of State told us that markets operate efficiently and fairly. How does he know that when he does not know what the profits of all the supermarkets and large retailers are? The Government is refusing to take action to ensure it would know about those profits. It is laughable to hear Government representatives say they need evidence and then to oppose these measures.

The Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, has requested that the CCPC reopen its analysis of grocery price inflation. This was done a few years ago and it did not result in any action being taken or in any lowering of grocery prices. It did not work that time and it will not work this time, as the CCPC has not been given any additional powers. This is just a distraction to make it look as though something is happening and something is being done, while prices continue to increase, we have no transparency of profits and individual families and households continue to struggle. Given that that action was taken before and resulted in nothing whatsoever, it is nothing more than a sham.

We need to have full transparency of profits, but we also need the powers the Agri-Food Regulator has been calling for. It has been writing to the Government to say it urgently needs those. We need them to be done now. There should be no more delays. Why has the Government been sitting on those extra powers the Agri-Food Regulator has been saying it urgently needs to do its job? It is fine to talk about the need for transparency and evidence, but if the Government does not give the Agri-Food Regulator the full powers it needs, we do not have full transparency of supermarket profits and it does not give the CCPC the extra powers it has been asking for, how will the Government have the evidence and transparency to be able to do something on grocery prices so people can live dignified lives?

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