A Mayo View: The great grocery debate and the public's right to know the facts

At a time when Irish grocery costs have sky-rocketed at three times the rate of inflation, a very valid proposal by the Social Democrats warrants being taken on board by the government.

The party wants to compel supermarket chains to reveal their profits in order to achieve full transparency in a market worth at least €8 billion per year.

As articulated by Deputy Jennifer Whitmore, "Many of us have long suspected that consumers in Ireland are being gouged by large supermarket chains that use their operations as a cash cow."

However, without full transparency on profit levels, it is very difficult to prove this.

It is also very difficult for the consumer regulator, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, to carry out its work effectively.

The reality is that over the past number of years, the annual average grocery bill for families has increased by €3,000.

It is now argued that a person can spend €50 on groceries and carry them out in their hands, an indication of how few items one can buy with €50 these days.

Such soaring prices are particularly difficult for parents trying to feed children or for pensioners on fixed incomes, who are now cutting back on groceries just to make ends meet.

Barnardos recently published a report which found that four in 10 parents are skipping meals so their children have enough to eat.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul revealed earlier this month that nearly half of its calls this year were about the single issue of grocery prices.

An ESRI study has also found that more than 60% of people had cut back on groceries to save money.

It's an issue that many people are not talking openly about because it is somewhat embarrassing for them.

In effect, people in well-paid jobs are struggling to put food on the table because their wages are not keeping apace with the cost of living.

So it makes sense that the government amends the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 to grant the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission statutory authority to compel the disclosure of information when carrying out market studies in line with powers already available in the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions.

Consumers have a right to know whether or not surging grocery prices reflect genuine input cost increases or price gouging.

A failure by the government to act accordingly would be very unwise.