Consumer body: Brexit euro hike not passed on

The Consumers’ Association of Ireland has said it strongly suspects that the full benefits of the over 13% surge in the value of the euro against the sterling in the past year are not being passed onto Irish shoppers in lower prices.

The association said it wants to highlight that consumers may think that they are securing low prices but that “history is repeating itself” in that the many food and goods shipped directly across the Irish Sea from Britain should be substantially cheaper following the unprecedented surge in the euro since the UK’s vote to quit the EU just over a year ago.

Dermott Jewell, the policy and council adviser at the consumer organisation, told the Irish Examiner that food and drink items imported on a large scale directly into Irish shops from Britain should have fallen steeply.