Why has this government enabled large supermarkets to keep their profits secret?
A review of the supermarket sector by the consumer regulator has detailed enormous price spikes in agri-food supply chains that must be investigated, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.
Deputy Whitmore said:
“This report from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) revealed an increase in agricultural output prices of 19.3 percent between 2024 and 2025 – at a time when input costs, in Ireland, actually decreased by 4.6 percent.
“This enormous increase far outstrips output price increases, in the EU, of just 2.6 percent during the same period.
“These huge increases in prices, which are multiples of price rises in the EU, mean these supply chains must now be investigated by the Agri-Food Regulator.
“Regrettably, the regulator is unable to do this work because it does not have the power to compel price and market information from relevant businesses.
“This is despite the fact that the regulator wrote to the Minister for Agriculture, nearly a year ago, seeking these powers.
“In March this year, the board of the regulator wrote again to the Minister to express “concern and frustration” that these additional powers had not yet been provided. They are still waiting – hampering their ability to do their work in this area.
“Elsewhere, the CCPC has found ‘nothing to see here’ in relation to suspected gouging by large supermarkets. This is the same finding as its 2023 report on the same issue.
“However, it has again made this finding without having all of the relevant data available to it – because not all of the large supermarket chains publish their Irish profits.
“It is wholly unsatisfactory for the consumer regulator to be denied information that is necessary for it to do its job – and it is outrageous that the government has not acted to force large supermarket chains to publish their profits.
“In a recent interview, Tánaiste Simon Harris said supermarkets should publish their profits, saying; “why wouldn’t they be transparent, what have they got to hide?”.
“The real question is, why has this government enabled large supermarkets to keep their profits secret at a time when prices are soaring and families are really struggling to put food on the table?”