Government has 'left households to feel the pain' of rising food prices, says Sinn Féin

Social Democrats' deputy leader Cian O'Callaghan called on the Government to require all supermarket chains and retailers to publish detailed and full accounts of their profits

Mary Lou McDonald (pictured) accused Micheál Martin of being out of touch and said: 'Does the Taoiseach do his weekly shop? No, he does not'. File picture: Conor Ó Mearáin / Collins Photo

The Government has been accused of "bull and bluster" and abandoning households as food prices continue to soar.

Mary Lou McDonald said the Government is content with sticking its head in the sand as people at the checkouts are being "ripped off week-in, week-out".

She accused Micheál Martin of being out of touch and said: "Does the Taoiseach do his weekly shop? No, he does not."

The Sinn Féin leader recalled when, in May 2023, then-junior minister Neale Richmond gave the major supermarket groups a six-week ultimatum to bring down the cost of groceries.

"That was 110 weeks ago," Ms McDonald said, telling the Dáil that Mr Richmond failed to exert any real pressure and was unceremoniously ignored leading to an ever-worsening situation for shoppers.

"That single, limp intervention was the entirety of the government's efforts to tackle runaway food prices. You couldn’t get the job done so you just walked away, and left households to feel the pain," she said.

The impact of rising prices at the supermarket till dominated Leaders Questions following a PwC report which showed over 70% of consumers are either extremely or very concerned about the cost of food.

The Government was criticised for saying there would be no cost-of-living measures included in October's budget while households continue to struggle.

Price gouging

Cian O'Callaghan told the Dáil that working parents are going without meals to ensure their children are fed and pensioners are leaving items behind at the checkout that they can no longer afford.

Amid fears of price gouging by supermarkets, the Social Democrats' deputy leader called on the Government to require all supermarket chains and retailers to publish detailed and full accounts of their profits.

"People are handing more than €10bn per year to supermarkets to buy food for their families, so why is there not full transparency about profits?" Mr O'Callaghan asked.

Mr Martin defended the Government's record on tackling cost-of-living issues citing a report from the Think Tank for Action on Social Change (TASC) which said without the temporary supports such as energy credits and lump-sum welfare payments, Ireland's at-risk-of-poverty rate would have increased to 14% in 2023 but instead it fell to 11.7%.

He added that Budget 2026 will focus on sustainable long-term measures with a particular emphasis on child poverty.