Why does everything cost so much?

Consumers are paying more and more for simply everything – and the figures are eye-watering, hitting household budgets hard.

Consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope has crunched the numbers and found that many consumers are facing price increases that are unsustainable: a person whose monthly mortgage repayment last May was €1,100 is now paying €1,500; in 2021, a typical Irish household would have been paying €2,000 a year in energy bills, now it’s €4,000; and in 2023, shoppers had to find an extra €1,200 to buy the same groceries they bought in 2021. It’s the bread and butter issue of the day.

Minister of State Neale Richmond has reconvened the Retail Forum this week – calling a range of retailers in to explain just why food bills have risen so high. He has said he will be asking them what they are planning to do about it. But it’s unclear exactly what the Government can actually do to lower prices – except maybe shame the giant retailers into lowering prices. There are no consumer representatives on the Retail Forum – but Pope says that shame might just work in prompting action.

In recent weeks own-brand butter has dropped by 40c and 2 litres of milk is down 10c – a clear sign that when a price war breaks out among the retail giants, they can drop their prices overnight. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.