Families simply cannot cope with the skyrocketing cost of food, according to Social Democrats finance spokesperson Cian O\u2019Callaghan.<\/p>\n
Deputy O\u2019Callaghan said:<\/p>\n
\u201cSoaring food prices are something the government promised to address.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s now been more than two years since Minister Neale Richmond organised his meeting with grocery retailers to discuss runaway prices. However, there has been zero meaningful action since then.<\/p>\n
\u201cHouseholds, now expected to pay another 6.5 per cent increase in food costs, are getting no help from this government.<\/p>\n
\u201cBudget 2026 once again proved that this government is completely out of touch when it comes to the cost-of-living crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen grocery inflation is ramping up, we should be looking to ease the pressure on families.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead, this government chose to hand out hundreds of millions in tax cuts to multinational fast-food chains and property developers.<\/p>\n
\u201cStruggling households are being denied targeted supports, which will result in more and more workers, children, and pensioners sinking into poverty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Social Democrats had called for the introduction of a second tier of Child Benefit, a \u20ac400 targeted energy credit, and a \u20ac15 increase to pension payments to ensure a decent standard of living \u2013 proposals that were ignored in the budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cFood, housing, heating, and electricity are the basics that should not be causing so much stress and worry to people in a country as wealthy as Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cOrdinary people are paying the price for this government\u2019s choices. It\u2019s unjust. It\u2019s unsustainable. And it\u2019s indefensible.\u201d<\/p>\n
October 20, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Families simply cannot cope with the skyrocketing cost of food, according to Social Democrats finance spokesperson Cian O\u2019Callaghan. Deputy O\u2019Callaghan said: \u201cSoaring food prices are something the government promised to address. \u201cIt\u2019s now been more than two years since Minister Neale Richmond organised his meeting with grocery retailers to discuss runaway prices. However, there has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7778,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n