21 August 2025
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Independent Ireland TD for Cork North Central, Ken O’Flynn, has said the Government is “out of touch with reality” as families continue to struggle with rising food costs despite a drop in headline inflation.
“Government ministers congratulate themselves on falling inflation figures, but families know the reality at the supermarket checkout,” Deputy O’Flynn said. “Headline CPI may be down to 1.7 per cent, yet food inflation remains stubbornly high at nearly 5 per cent.”
Deputy O’Flynn warned that the gap between official statistics and everyday experience is widening. “Every family in Ireland feels this squeeze. Weekly grocery bills are climbing while wages lag behind. For pensioners, single parents, and working households already stretched by housing and energy costs, the Government’s statistics are meaningless when the shopping basket tells a different story.”
He said the Government must take immediate action to protect households. That means updating the reference baskets used for welfare payments and means tests so that they reflect real food inflation. It means taking on excessive profit margins in the grocery sector, which push up prices even further, and ensuring stronger supports are in place for Irish producers so that supply-chain costs are not simply passed down to consumers.
“It is not enough to celebrate percentages,” Deputy O’Flynn concluded. “We need action that lowers real bills for real people.”