'Eat or heat': Irish families cut back on food and other essentials as prices surge 4.6%

Sean Moynihan, the CEO of older persons’ charity Alone, cited respondents to their recent cost-of-living survey including one who said that 'eat or heat has become reality'. Stock picture

Struggling families are having to resort to either buying less or more unhealthy foods as new CSO figures show grocery prices are rising at more than double the general rate of inflation.

The Central Statistics Office has said that food and drink prices rose 4.6% in the last year, with significant surges in staples such as meat, milk, and butter, compared to the general rise in the cost of living of 1.8%.