The Central Statistics Office has reported a 4.6% increase in food and drink prices over the past year. This is notably higher than the general cost of living increase of 1.8%, with significant jumps in the prices of meat, milk, and butter.
The price of sirloin steak has risen from an average of €17.26 per kilo last year to €22.12 now. Roast beef has increased from €12.64 to €15.20 per kilo. The CSO also noted significant price increases for lamb and fish.
A pound of butter now costs an average of €4.83, up €1.10 from June of last year. Two litres of milk have increased by 27c to €2.47, and a kilo of Irish cheddar cheese is up 95c to €11.34.
These price increases are adding thousands of euros to the annual expenses of consumers.
The focus is now shifting to potential government support measures for families in this autumn’s budget.
While broad, one-off measures have been ruled out, advocates are urging the government to assist struggling households through increased welfare rates and targeted support programs.
Stephen Moffatt, National Policy Manager at Barnardos, stated that families are being more careful with their shopping habits, seeking savings by carefully planning meals to maximize their food budgets.
“However, when prices continue to rise significantly and incomes don’t, there’s only so much that parents can do,” he said.
“In a way, they’ve made as many reasonable savings as possible over the past few years, so now many have to start doing things such as you can do buying cheaper and sometimes less nutritious food. It means parents are further cutting back on food themselves.”
Mr. Moffatt noted that the pressure on household budgets has forced families to forego other essentials. He indicated that the distribution of food vouchers by the charity has become “the new norm” in the past two years.
“Given lower income families spend a higher proportion of their disposable income on groceries it will have disproportionate impact on them,” he added. “They need targeted supports.”
Sean Moynihan, CEO of Alone, a charity for older people, stated that without cost-of-living supports last year, nearly half of older people living alone would have been at risk of poverty.
He highlighted recent responses to the charity’s cost-of-living survey, illustrating the difficulties many are facing. One respondent stated:
Another respondent said: “I am just more careful what I buy now as I know I can’t afford certain things like meat or fish.”
Dominic Lumsden, a spokesman for broker Peopl Insurance, mentioned anecdotal evidence suggesting that pensioners are leaving food behind at supermarket checkouts because they are unable to afford current grocery prices.
“This is a situation that cannot continue and the Government must do something to tackle grocery inflation so that people can afford to put food on their table,” he said.
Speaking in Cork on Thursday, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe acknowledged that the cost of living continues to be a challenge for many, but noted that the rate of increase in prices is “an awful lot lower than it has been in previous years.”
“Every single budget that a government brings forward and that the previous government brought forward does find different ways of helping with cost of living challenges within our society,” he said. “But we do have to get the balance right.”
“We are also living in very uncertain times — we have to be careful with our public finances.”
