“A basket of 25 items that would have cost us €87 three years ago now costs €115.93”

Labour’s finance spokesperson Ged Nash TD has called on the Government to enact his Bill that would help end price gouging at the supermarket checkout and give consumers a fairer deal.

Deputy Nash called on the Government to fast-track Labour’s Competition & Consumer Protection (Excessive Prices) Bill, which was taken at second stage in the Dáil in May.

The Bill is not opposed by government, and would call large retailers to heel by forcing big chains to publish profits, bringing greater price transparency than can help take the cost of the weekly shop down.

Deputy Nash said: “The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) must be empowered to keep our supermarkets honest to make sure shoppers get a fair deal at the till.

“Two years ago in response to Labour’s campaigning on high grocery prices, the then Enterprise Minister tried to cut us off at the pass, pledging to come down hard on the grocery sector.

"He said he would force them to at least publish their profits. Since then we have nothing but silence and hand-wringing from FG and FF.

“In the meantime, Kantar research shows the cost of a weekly shop is rising at more than double the rate of general inflation. It’s inexcusable that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have failed to act on this.

“In four years, the cost of a basket of groceries has risen by more than 35%. Organisations like Barnardos report that parents are forgoing medicines to put food on their children's plates.

“We are seeing shrinkflation everywhere, where consumers are asked to pay the same price for less product. Households across Ireland are having to cope with a now permanent cost-of-living crisis and are crying out for the government to take meaningful action.

“Milk has gone up more than 25% since 2022, a bar of Cadbury’s chocolate has doubled in price. A basket of 25 items that would have cost us €87 three years ago now costs €115.93, and spread over the course of the year, the cost of this basket, if bought weekly, comes in at just over €6,000 compared to an annual cost of €4,500 in 2022.

“Labour has put forward legislation to address this intolerable situation and end what has all the hallmarks of price gouging that is happening at tills right across the country.

“Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are letting big business rule the roost while hardworking families are filled with terror at the till, on a weekly basis. When you add the rising cost of rent, fuel, energy, childcare and, potentially, increased student fees, working families are being stretched beyond their limits.

“I implore Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to take action now on Labour’s Bill, bring transparency to supermarket pricing and end the price gouging by the big retailers.”