TD: 'Huge increases' in agri-food prices must be investigated
Social Democrats TD, Jennifer Whitmore has said the Competition and Consumer Protection Committee's (CCPC) review of the supermarket sector has detailed enormous price spikes in agri-food supply chains that must be investigated.
The CCPC released its report today, which revealed an increase in agricultural output prices of 19.3% between 2024 and 2025 – at a time when input costs, in Ireland, actually decreased by 4.6%
According to Deputy Whitmore, the "enormous" increase far outstrips price increases in the EU of just 2.6% during the same period.
She said: "These huge increases in prices, which are multiples of price rises in the EU, mean these supply chains must now be investigated by the Agri-Food Regulator.
“Regrettably, the regulator is unable to do this work because it does not have the power to compel price and market information from relevant businesses."
“This is despite the fact that the regulator wrote to the Minister for Agriculture (Martin Heydon), nearly a year ago, seeking these powers," Deputy Whitmore added.
The Social Democrats TD claimed that the board of the regulator wrote to minister again in March of this year, and expressed "concern and frustration" that additional powers had not yet been provided.
She claimed the board are "still waiting", and it is hampering their ability to do their work in this area.
Deputy Whitmore explained: "Elsewhere, the CCPC has found ‘nothing to see here’ in relation to suspected gouging by large supermarkets. This is the same finding as its 2023 report on the same issue.
“However, it has again made this finding without having all of the relevant data available to it – because not all of the large supermarket chains publish their Irish profits."
“It is wholly unsatisfactory for the consumer regulator to be denied information that is necessary for it to do its job – and it is outrageous that the government has not acted to force large supermarket chains to publish their profits," the TD added.
According to Deputy Whitmore, the Tánaiste, Simon Harris recently said that supermarkets should publish their profits.
The Social Democrats TD asked why the government has "enabled large supermarkets to keep their profits secret at a time when prices are soaring and families are really struggling to put food on the table".
