Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)

On behalf of all of the Social Democrats team I also want to thank Julie for everything. I wish her huge congratulations on her retirement.

Before I begin, I want to say my thoughts are also with all those on the Global Sumud Flotilla, including Members of the Oireachtas, who were hit by drone strikes overnight. This is just another example of Israel operating in blatant breach of international law. There has to be consequences.

My question for the Minister is quite simple. What is he doing about large supermarkets that refuse to report their profits? Increases in grocery prices have been rapid and relentless. I know that, the Minister knows that and everybody who is doing their weekly shop knows that. I think we all have a fairly good idea why. Large supermarket chains are gouging their customers but we cannot prove it. Why? It is because they refuse to declare their profits and the Government refuses to make them.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has stated that nearly half of calls to it this year were about a single issue, namely, groceries. According to Barnardos, four in ten parents are skipping meals or eating less themselves to feed their children. Ireland is a wealthy country; it should not be such a struggle just to survive, because that is what we are talking about. We are talking about the cost of simply existing in this country - putting a roof over your head, keeping the lights on and putting food on the table. More and more people are finding life completely unaffordable.

The grocery market in Ireland is worth at least €10 billion per year and yet there is little to no transparency about its profits. Today, it was announced that Dunnes Stores in the North increased its profits last year by a whopping 44%. That is a staggering increase at a time when so many people are struggling. We do not know what the profit margins are in this jurisdiction because Dunnes Stores does not have to tell us. It does not have to file annual accounts and the Government refuses to do anything about it.

Many of us have long suspected the consumers in Ireland are being gouged by large supermarket chains but without full transparency on profit levels it is very difficult to prove this. The profits announced by Dunnes Stores in the North today do tell us one thing though, that business for it is booming but for its customers it is another story.

The Social Democrats have now been highlighting this issue for years. We have asked the Government to force large supermarket chains to publish their profits and to give more powers to the food regulator and consumer regulator so they can investigate and prevent supermarkets from ripping off their customers.

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