A report from the consumer watchdog, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) yesterday found “there is no evidence that competition is not working in the Irish grocery retail sector”.

This comes as families face a massive jump in their grocery bills as food and drink prices spiral at almost three times the general rate of inflation, and food prices over the past year are up by 4.7% compared to 1.7% for overall inflation, official figures released yesterday show.

A review of supermarkets by the watchdog detailed enormous price spikes in agri-food supply chains that must be investigated, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.

It found an increase in agricultural output prices of more than 19% since last year – at a time when agricultural costs actually decreased by 4.6%.

“This enormous increase far outstrips output price increases, in the EU, of just 2.6% during the same period.

“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,” Ms Whitmore said.

The CCPC’s report said: “Irish consumers are currently experiencing a sharp increase in grocery prices, a trend that is affecting consumers across the globe in recent years.

"This has significantly contributed to the cost-of-living pressures faced by consumers and has sparked widespread public commentary on the underlying reasons for these increases.”

The CCPC did a high-level analysis of competition in the grocery retail sector in 2023 but found “no indications of market failure or excessive pricing due to abuse of dominance, noting that competition had improved in recent years with more choice for consumers and increased entry by retailers”.

It added: “While food prices in Ireland remained high internationally, food inflation during the period analysed had been the lowest in the EU, and available data did not suggest unusually high profit margins among retailers.”

The latest CCPC analysis said: “While food prices have increased significantly in recent years, there is no evidence that competition is not working in the Irish grocery retail sector.

“The report shows the increased competition in the market over the last 20 years has brought sizeable benefits for consumers.

“Food price increases have generally remained below the European average, which coincides with increasing competition in Ireland.”

It also checked Irish supermarkets’ profit levels to see if there was “price gouging”. But it concluded: “The data available on profit margins does not indicate that margins are notably high when compared to international comparators.

“The updated analysis also highlights that, while grocery prices have increased significantly since 2021, they have done so at a slower pace than some of the key input costs such as agricultural prices.

“This suggests that competition in the grocery market has helped limit the impact of increased agricultural prices on Irish consumers.”

However, Ms Whitmore said: “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, nearly a year ago, seeking these powers.

“In March this year, the board of the regulator wrote again to the minister to express ‘concern and frustration’ that these additional powers had not yet been provided.

“They are still waiting – hampering their ability to do their work in this area.

“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.”

She added: “It is outrageous that the Government has not acted to force large supermarket chains to publish their profits.”

Consumers experienced a 27% increase in grocery prices between 2021 and June of this year, figures from the CSO show.