Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 23: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is satisfied that the abolition of the groceries order has resulted in the reduction in prices that were forecast by his Department when the decision was made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16546/08]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 28: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has examined the extent of food price increases since the abolition of the minimum prices order; if he has come to any conclusions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16667/08]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 45: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on reports of recent substantial increases in prices of a range of food and forecasts that food prices will rise further by the end of 2008; if he is satisfied that sufficient protection is available to protect consumers against unwarranted price increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16565/08]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 116: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is considering legislative changes in view of the rapidly increasing food prices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16938/08]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 117: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the steady increase in food process since the abolition of the minimum price groceries order; if he has proposals to address the issues arising in the short or medium term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16939/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 23, 28, 45, 116 and 117 together.

Following the enactment of the Competition (Amendment) Act 2006 which revoked the Restrictive Practices (Groceries) Order 1987 with effect from 20th March 2006, I asked the Competition Authority to review and monitor developments in the grocery sector in light of the new regulatory environment.

The Authority published two Reports earlier this month — Report No. 1 "A Description of the Structure and Operation of Grocery Retailing and Wholesaling in Ireland: 2001 to 2006" and Report No.2 "Price Trends in the Irish Retail Grocery Sector: A Description of the Evolution of Retail Grocery Prices between 2001 and 2007". The latter Report considers the impact of the removal of the Groceries Order through an examination of the evolution of aggregate retail grocery price trends between 2001 and 2007 by analysis of price data published by the CSO.

The Authority reports that during the initial nine month period, April to December 2006, following the removal of the Groceries Order, the price trends for Groceries Order items and Non-Groceries Order items behave very differently. The price trends move in opposite directions, with the price of Groceries Order items falling and the price of Non-Groceries Order items rising.

This is the first time that such a divergence between the Groceries Order items and non-Groceries Order items has occurred since 2001. The Authority's view is that this may indicate that a structural change has occurred in the price trends for Groceries Order items and Non-Groceries Order items and may reflect a period of price adjustment by retailers who were free to use price enticements to compete.

However, since the beginning of 2007 the price trends for Groceries Order items and Non-Groceries Order items appear to behave similarly, with both trends rising. Towards the end of 2007, the rise in the price of Groceries Order items is steeper and this has been attributed to the rise in world commodity prices of certain agricultural products such as wheat.

In summary, since the removal of the Groceries Order in March 2006, CSO figures for the period April 2006 to November 2007, indicate that:

the CPI (consumer price index), covering prices of all consumer goods and services, increased by 7.6%;

the price of Groceries Order items, i.e. items which were covered by the Groceries Order, increased by 3.8%;

the price of Non-Groceries Order items, i.e. items not covered by the Groceries Order, increased by 4.0%; and

the price of all grocery items (Groceries Order and Non-Groceries Order items) increased by 3.6%.

The March 2008 CPI, as published by the CSO, shows that the annual rate of inflation increased to 5% in March up from 4.8% in February and the price of food and non alcoholic beverages increased by 9.3% in the past 12 months. The price of Groceries Order and Non-Groceries Order food increased by 7.2% in the past 12 months. While the price of food covered by the Order increased by 8.4% and the price of food not covered by the Order increased by 4.0%, both categories increased by 0.8% in the month.

During the debate that surrounded the removal of the Order, I indicated that increased competition in the market should lead to prices being cheaper than they would be if the Order remained in place. I am very aware of the increase in a range of food items over the past number of months. This is not an issue particular to Ireland as rising food prices are being experienced across the world due to a number of factors including climatic, economic and demand reasons. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation has identified that the rapid expansion of the global bio fuel industry is causing fundamental changes to agricultural markets and is likely to keep the prices of agricultural commodities high over the next decade. A rise in input and transportation costs consequent on increased fuel and energy prices has also contributed to the increase in biofuel production.

Government policy insofar as the price of food to Irish consumers is concerned, is focused on promoting a competitive grocery market and raising consumer awareness in relation to the need to get the best value for money when doing their grocery shopping. In this regard, the National Consumer Agency recently carried out a Grocery Price Comparison Survey in the area of food prices. The results of the survey found that food prices are on a strong upward trend primarily due to international factors. The Agency concluded that consumers can force more competition in the grocery sector by informing themselves of the prices of products charged by different retailers and shopping around, if they have sufficient choice, and not necessarily doing a "weekly shop" in the one outlet. I understand that following the publication of its Grocery Price Comparison Survey, research carried out by the Agency indicated that a significant number of consumers have already changed their shopping behaviour based on the Survey's results. This clearly demonstrates the importance of price surveys and information campaigns of this nature in providing consumers with the necessary information so that they can make informed choices as to where they wish to purchase goods and services.

I am confident that the initiatives being undertaken by the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency, together with the vigilance of consumers themselves, will have the effect of ensuring that Irish consumers do not pay unnecessarily high prices when doing their grocery shopping.