With households continuing to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, the Social Democrats will bring a motion before the D\u00e1il next week calling for full transparency on profits being generated by supermarkets.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Whitmore TD, who will introduce the motion on Wednesday, July 9, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cFamilies and individuals across the country are finding it extremely difficult to make ends meet as the cost of living soars. According to a recent PwC report, more than 70 per cent of people in Ireland are either \u2018extremely\u2019 or \u2018very\u2019 concerned about the price of groceries.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrocery prices have increased at three times the rate of general inflation in the past year alone. In fact, many families are now spending \u20ac3,000 more a year to put food on the table than they were in 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is at a time when the number of children living in consistent poverty nearly doubled to more than 100,000 in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd of the more than 103,000 calls to St Vincent de Paul this year, almost half were requests for help with food.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is now over two years since then Minister of State with responsibility for Retail, Neale Richmond, convened a \u2018supermarket summit\u2019 to examine grocery costs. However, his intervention failed to make any difference, with supermarket chains continuing to generate massive profits off the backs of Irish households.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsumers have a right to know whether surging grocery prices reflect genuine input cost increases or blatant price gouging.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur motion calls for the introduction of legislation requiring all grocery retailers operating in Ireland \u2013 with an annual turnover above \u20ac10 million \u2013 to publish full audited yearly financial accounts. This requirement would apply to all operators, whether Irish-incorporated or international, to ensure no retailer can claim foreign registration to evade transparency obligations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition, we are calling on the government to monitor and publish regular reports on the impact of this transparency initiative on grocery price inflation and competition in the retail sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is also a need for clarity on how much farmers and food producers are being paid for their produce as it appears that the lion\u2019s share of the profits often goes to the big retailers<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is time to put the needs of struggling householders before the eyewatering profits being enjoyed by supermarket chains.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lack of transparency around these companies\u2019 profits must end.\u201d<\/p>\n