By Councillor Brian McCarthy
Budget 2026 is set to be announced on 7 October, the first budget of the coalition between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, supported by the Lowry-aligned Independents. In recent years, there were several one-off payments introduced to lessen the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
These were cynical attempts to try and buy some goodwill from working-class people before the elections. It is unsurprising then that these are now being withdrawn, which will put ordinary people and their families under increased pressure as we head into winter.
Supermarket profiteering
Food inflation is the sharpest edge of the crisis, with prices increasing by 5% over the past year alone, which is more than three times the general rise in prices. Supermarket chains are raising their prices to these extortionate levels to defend and increase their profits, and the impact has been devastating.
In July, the children’s charity Barnardos reported that:
- 19% of families had to cut back or go without food over the past six months;
- 40% of parents said they skipped meals or reduced portion size so their children would have enough to eat;
- 28% felt at some point they didn’t have enough food to feed their children;
- 12% used a foodbank;
Price controls
The Government has the power to take emergency measures like reducing the price of groceries to affordable levels, and make big business take the hit, instead of working-class people.
Tackling the profiteering of big business is key to ending a cost-of-living crisis that is drastically cutting living standards. Critically, we need to take the major food companies, agribusinesses and retail outlets into public ownership and ensure that healthy food is delivered at prices we can afford.
