Louth TD sceptical over clean bill of health given to supermarket 'big beasts'

Louth TD and Labour’s Finance spokesperson, Deputy Ged Nash, has expressed scepticism over the "clean bill of health given to supermarket big beasts" by the Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in relation to the Commission’s analysis of the Irish grocery sector.

Deputy Nash said: “Given the limited reliable data that is publicly available on supermarket profits in Ireland, it is a big stretch for the CCPC to definitively claim that the Irish arms of global retailers are no more or less profitable than their EU counterparts. This is a peculiar conclusion to reach, under the circumstances.

“This is exactly why Labour’s Unfair Pricing Bill, which would compel operators to share data on profit margins with the CCPC so they can undertake more frequent market analysis and surveillance to ensure competition is working and consumers are treated fairly, must be enacted by government.

“Back in 2023, Simon Coveney said he would force the big players to do just that. Since then, the sum total of government action to protect consumers has been the commissioning of this report. It is the policy equivalent of ‘can anything be said for another Mass?’."

Deputy Nash continued: “The narrative in this desk-top analysis, and most of the points made in it, are unsurprising and are not new. It is welcome that a light is being shone on the super-normal profits of big suppliers such as Unilever and the Kerry Group and more work needs to be done on that internationally.

“Because the CCPC says that current prices in Ireland are in line with other EU countries is little comfort to hard-pressed Irish households where salaries are not rising as quickly as prices.

“We need to get a better understanding of why prices for the basics in Ireland have remained high for so long; why they are not coming down and why there is only moderate competition with no new, major entrants in 25 years."

The Labour TD added, “this report does not have the answers and it reveals in stark relief how limited the actual functions of the CCPC are. Farmers have the Agri-Food Regulator to stand up for their interests while the limited interest government has in how competition and consumer protection works in the interests of citizens and small retailers means citizens are left to suck up high prices.

“The least the government can do is allow the Labour Bill to get to Committee Stage in September.”