Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 119: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the prices charged in supermarkets here compare favourably with price charged by the same supermarkets in other jurisdictions notwithstanding currency or other cost differentials; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44994/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Consumer Price Index as published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) for October 2009 highlights that for the tenth month in a row consumer prices were lower than the prices for the corresponding months in 2008. Consumer prices were on average 6.6% lower in October 2009 as compared with prices in October 2008. In so far as the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages is concerned, CSO's returns show that whereas prices increased by 4.6% for the year to October 2008, they fell by 6.4% in the 12 months to October 2009.

In so far as the UK is concerned, the Retail Prices Index (RPI) for October 2009 as published by the UK Office for National Statistics shows that whilst overall prices decreased by 0.8%, annual food inflation in the UK increased by 0.07% in the year to October 2009.

At the European level, the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, which is accepted as the most appropriate measure for community wide price comparisons, shows that in the year to October 2009 there was a fall of 2.8% in prices in Ireland as compared with an increase in prices of 0.5% (provisional) throughout the EU as a whole.

The above returns show that prices are falling more rapidly in Ireland than in Northern Ireland, the UK and in the EU as a whole. Whilst this overall narrowing in the differential in prices is very much to be welcomed and clearly will benefit consumers, there remains some areas where the differential in prices continue to be high.

The Government continues to engage with the various elements of the retail chain to bring greater transparency as to the reasons for the differentials in retail prices between this jurisdiction and elsewhere, including Northern Ireland and the UK. My Department and its agencies have undertaken a series of actions within the last 12 to 18 months aimed at ensuring that there is the greatest degree of transparency possible as to the reasons for the north south price differentials. These actions included National Consumer Agency Price Comparison Surveys; the Forfás Report on the Cost of Running Retail Operations in Ireland; and the Competition Authority Study on the Retail-Related Import and Distribution Sector. The Government is determined to continue to pursue this issue so as to ensure that Irish consumers receive and can expect to receive a fair deal in the goods and services that they buy.