Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I request that we have a meeting with the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, on food prices. I welcome the forum that he held with the retail sector yesterday, but now we need action.There is an opportunity for the Minister to come to the House to outline the type of action we need to see over the next number of weeks and months. Everyone is seeing an increase in their weekly spending. People used see in their bill at the end of the weekly shop that it had risen by €10, €20 or whatever. It has got to the point now that when we look at individual prices - whether it is a coffee, bread or whatever - we see significant increases. Something needs to be done.

We need to recognise that this is a challenge for businesses, including small businesses, such as newsagent shops which have tight margins. It is difficult for them to compete with the big boys, such as Tesco and Dunnes. There is an opportunity for the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, to outline what can be done over the next number of months to support the public with the increase in costs.