'Grocery prices in Ireland hiked overnight and men don't seem to get it'
Consumer expert Conor Pope told recently how we're paying 40% more for shopping than we were in 2021. A weekly trolley that used to cost €150 now costs €225. That's an extra €3,000 a year on groceries, for exactly the same stuff.
I reckon Pope is one of the few men who gets it. Apologies for the mass generalisation lads, but male eyes tend to glaze over if I say a package of coffee now costs €11, or a single fillet steak is now €16.60 in my local Tesco.
They nod their heads, make sympathetic noises, but they haven't a baldy what I'm on about. Because they're generally not the ones who spend half their lives in and out of SuperValu, Tesco and Dunnes.
I meet the odd fella who loves the bargains in Lidl, but most men hate supermarkets and their main aim is to get in and out of them as quickly as possible.
They don't usually have a collection of clubcards, apps and money-off vouchers, working out how to buy the weekly shop on special offers.
They're often the ones footing the bill, as men are still most likely to be the main breadwinners. But if you're not in the aisles, then you're not seeing food inflation play out in real time, not clocking its relentless rise.
So I understand why an exasperated Mary Lou McDonald went postal over it in the Dail on Wednesday. She sounded like she was banging her head off a brick wall trying to get the message across to Taoiseach Micheal Martin.
Mary Lou mocked Micheal for saying grocery prices were simply 'at a relatively elevated level' - saying they were through the roof. Groceries were costing families €1,000 a month, she said, which is 'beyond a joke.' Mary Lou McDonald TD, Sinn Fein leader, addressing the Raise the Roof rally, outside Leinster House, Tuesday 17th, June 2025. (Image: COLLINS PHOTO 2025)
The Sinn Fein leader has made this a crusade - previously highlighting how butter is now a euro more than it was last year, and how a kilo of chicken that was €4.99 in 2022 is now €11. Micheal did the serious politician reaction, talking about global pressures and trades and tariffs and how the Government is limited in its ability.
But that's no use to anyone. That's holding up your hands, helpless, saying: 'Nothing we can do.'
That's a cop out. This is not happening at this rate everywhere, and it's disingenuous and dismissive to frame it so. We've all been away and noticed the huge difference at European checkouts. Figures released last month reveal food prices here are the third highest in the EU at almost 15% above average.
Meat prices are up here 22% in the past year. Why? Supermarkets have denied accusations of price gouging, but in a climate like this, gouging is a real risk. Junior retail minister Alan Dillon acknowledged the impact on consumers and promised action, including new fines.
We should come down hard on anyone in breach. But we should also be investigating why price hikes happened almost overnight. And why are some items far cheaper in small shops or convenience stores than they are in major supermarkets?
In the meantime, it seems to me prices will continue to rise as long as we continue to pay them.
I think the Government will be forced to put a cost-of-living package together, but only for the most in need. The squeezed middle will have to try to find ways around it.
It's up to the consumer to limit the impact in the only way we can - buying special offers, giving up most expensive goods and switching to cheaper own brand products. If enough of us refuse to buy into food inflation, things will change.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
'Optimism but no certainty' as Trump and von der Leyen to meet in Scotland
Tomorrow's meeting between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump in Scotland is being treated as a "final negotiating session". According to a senior official in the EU delegation, there is "optimism but no certainty" that a trade deal can be reached. The meeting is being treated as a "president-to-president" negotiating session. It's understood Ms von der Leyen will also be joined by the European Trade Commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, in Turnberry. In the event that a deal is reached, it will be an agreement in principle, with a final document likely to be produced in the days afterwards. Mr Trump spent much of his day today playing golf at his Turnberry resort, ahead of high-level bilateral sessions with Ms von der Leyen tomorrow, and also British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Scottish First Minister John Swinney on Monday. Meanwhile, protests against the visit of Mr Trump to Scotland took place this afternoon. Organised by the "Stop Trump Coalition", the demonstrations were held simultaneously in Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Those involved said that they wanted to convey the message that they did not believe Trump should be welcomed to Scotland. Tight security around the Trump Turnberry course meant no demonstrators were seen when the president took to the greens this morning. Dressed in black, with a white cap that said USA on it, Mr Trump could be seen driving a golf buggy, flanked by a fleet of security personnel, as he played on the famous course which he bought in 2014. However hundreds gathered in both Edinburgh and Aberdeen - near the site of Mr Trump's other Scottish golf resort - to make their opposition to the president known. As the visit got under way Scottish First Minister John Swinney announced public money to support a tournament at the Trump International golf links in Aberdeenshire. The 2025 Nexo Championship - previously known as the Scottish Championship - is set to take place there next month, supported by £180,000 of public funding. Mr Swinney said: "The Scottish Government recognises the importance and benefits of golf and golf events, including boosting tourism and our economy." But Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie likened the awarding of public cash to the tournament to "handing some pocket money to the school bully". Mr Trump will head to his golf resort in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire later on in his five-day long private visit. As part of his trip he will also hold talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, where the two men will refine a trade deal between the UK and the US that was agreed earlier this year. The president is also expected to talk trade with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen tomorrow. But with no talks apparently scheduled for today, the president, who is well known for his love of golf, was free to take to the famous course at Turnberry. A major security operation surrounded him, with police officers and military personnel seen scouring the grounds ahead of Mr Trump teeing off. After touching down in Scotland in Air Force One last night, the president was seen on the course at Turnberry this morning - although security fencing had also been erected around the resort, with road closures also in place to help protect Mr Trump, who last year survived an assassination attempt. Police Scotland has asked for support from other forces across the UK to bolster officer numbers for the high-profile visit - with Mr Swinney appealing to people to protest "peacefully and within the law". In Aberdeen, Green north east Scotland MSP Maggie Chapman told the crowd of hundreds: "We stand in solidarity not only against Trump but against everything he and his politics stand for." Speaking about the US president, Ms Chapman said: "He believes that climate change isn't real, he believes that cutting services for those in the world with the least is the right thing to do. "We say no to all of those things, not in our name, never in our name." With Mr Trump having last year been convicted by a New York jury of falsifying business records, she said the president was a "convicted felon". "He is not welcome in Scotland, he is certainly not welcome in Aberdeenshire," she said. "We know that he is a convicted felon. "We also know that all of the promises he has repeatedly made to Scotland have come to nothing, there hasn't been the development of jobs or houses that he promised when he opened his course in Aberdeenshire a few years ago." Mr Harvie was also critical of the president, saying: "He's attacking our renewables industry once again, one of the success stories of Scotland, and he is trying to attack and undermine it.
Irish Examiner
7 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Trump tells Europe to ‘get your act together' on immigration before US-EU trade talks
Intensive negotiations were continuing on Saturday between the EU and the US before a crunch meeting in Scotland between Donald Trump and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, to avert a costly trade war. Trump spent the night at his family-owned Turnberry golf resort on a private visit, but took time to criticise European leaders over wind turbines and immigration, claiming there won't be a Europe unless they 'get their act together'. 'I say two things to Europe. Stop the windmills. You're ruining your countries. I really mean it, it's so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds,' he said. 'On immigration, you better get your act together,' he said. 'You're not going to have Europe any more.' On Saturday morning, he abandoned a scheduled meeting with the press, who travelled with him on Air Force One, for a round of golf at his seaside course with music blaring from the buggy he drove. Sky News, stationed next to the course, reported the songs included Billy Joel's Uptown Girl, Elaine Paige's Memory and Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water. Billed as a four-day family visit to Scotland, Trump is meeting European leaders and the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, raising hopes of new and refined trade deals with the EU and the UK. People take part in a Stop Trump Scotland protest outside the US Consulate in Edinburgh, as US President Donald Trump begins his five-day private trip to the country at his Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire On the prospects of an EU trade deal, the US president has said there were '20 sticking points'. When asked what they were, he said: 'Well, I don't want to tell you what the sticking points are.' He described von der Leyen as a 'highly respected woman' and said the meeting on Sunday with the EU chief would be 'good', rating the chances of a deal as 'a good 50-50'. It is understood von der Leyen and her aides will fly in on Saturday, with the European trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, arriving on Sunday morning. It is expected the deal will centre on an outline agreement in principle over 15% tariff rates for exports including cars, but with a 50% tariff continuing on steel. There may also be a breakthrough deal on pharmaceuticals, setting a rate of 15% for exports. Although this would breach a longstanding World Trade Organization agreement that medicines are rated at a zero tariff, it would be a far cry from the 200% tariff Trump threatened to impose on pharmaceuticals earlier this month. People take part in a Stop Trump Scotland protest outside the US Consulate in Edinburgh, as US President Donald Trump begins his five-day private trip to the country at his Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire This would have triggered a highly damaging trade war not just with Ireland, where many US multinationals are based, but Germany, Denmark, Belgium, France and Spain. Read More Israeli air strikes in Gaza Strip leave at least 25 dead, health officials say Von der Leyen's spokesperson, Paula Pinho, said: 'Intensive negotiations at technical and political [level] have been ongoing between the EU and US. Leaders will now take stock and consider the scope for a balanced outcome that provides stability and predictability for businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.' It is believed the meeting will be held in Aberdeenshire and will be followed by a series of meetings with Starmer on Monday, with hopes he will widen the bare bones trade deal he struck in May. Trump's arrival in Scotland has required the biggest security operation since Elizabeth II died in 2022. More than 5,000 police and security personnel are involved in the four-day visit with no risks taken after the assassination attempt on the president a year ago. High perimeter fences have been erected around the coastal golf course with naval vessels patrolling the shore while security drones overhead and dozens of security detail staked out the resort early on Saturday. The heavy security presence may be a foretaste of events to come later in August when the US vice-president, JD Vance, and his family arrive for a holiday in the Cotswolds, reportedly in the village of Charlbury. Locals who resisted the expansion of Trump's golf course in the past have asked who would be footing the bill for the security arrangements. - The Guardian
Irish Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Russia 'preparing to invade new European country' as NATO fears grow
An expert has raised concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be eyeing up another European nation, as the continent remains on edge over possible Russian expansionism. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported in June that Russia is laying the groundwork to potentially justify moves against Moldova and the Baltic states, citing a supposed obligation to defend its "compatriots abroad". This rhetoric echoes the "Russkiy Mir" concept, which promotes the idea of a "Russian world" beyond its borders. This narrative, experts indicate, mirrors the one Putin employed to rationalise the full-scale assault on Ukraine in February 2022. In May, it was highlighted that Russian security forces were still engaging in covert operations against the US and its allies, seen as rehearsals for a more significant conflict with NATO. A cybersecurity warning was issued by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), alongside intelligence agencies from Germany, Czechia, Poland, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, and the Netherlands. It revealed that Russia's GRU had been targeting sectors such as defence, transport, and IT services in NATO countries, as well as Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine. Moldova president Maia Sandu. (Image: Getty) Putin next to Russian navy soldiers. (Image: Getty) Now, specialists are voicing concerns that Russia's ambitions could extend further into eastern Europe, reports the Express. "As a military intelligence analyst specialising in Putin's thinking and Russian military strategy, I agree with Rutte's assessment about Russia's readiness for another offensive military campaign in just a few years," penned Russian-born US intelligence expert Rebekah Koffler in The Telegraph. "I'm less convinced that a NATO country is likely to be the Kremlin's next target, unless the alliance directly intervenes in Ukraine by deploying troops onto the battlefield. "Nevertheless, what NATO does or doesn't do in the next few years could be highly significant in determining whether Putin decides to attack another post-Soviet state - such as Moldova." Koffler cautions that Russia aims to disrupt NATO's "network-centric approach to war" by focusing on the C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) and space systems that are crucial for the organisation's forces. She argues that member states must go beyond merely spending money and instead gain a deeper understanding of the alliance's weaknesses. Moreover, it's important to recognise that the Kremlin tends to employ indirect tactics in confronting its adversaries, rather than outright aggression. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
