As the economic climate remains grim last week there were some developments that Irish consumers could draw comfort from.
British retail giant Tesco has said that it is planning a 100 million Euro price cutting campaign aimed at luring back penny pinched shoppers who are finding better bargains at Lidl and Aldi.
Labour Senator Brendan Ryan said, “For many low income families the fact that Tesco Ireland is starting a price slashing campaign will be very welcome and hopefully Tesco will follow up the 1,000 products to be slashed with lots more.
“The Irish consumer has been enduring an extensive range of price hikes so this decision is very welcome and should go some small way to counter the fact that the cost of food has risen dramatically over the last year", said Mr Ryan.
“I again encourage consumers to change their shopping behaviour, and split their weekly shopping basket in order to get the best value available across a range of grocery items.”
Retailers such as Tesco have used the excuse that operating costs in Ireland are much more expensive than in the UK as an excuse for charging Irish consumers more for the same product. The Tainiste Mary Coughlan announced that she is to conduct a study into the validity of these claims.
Senator Brendan Ryan said, “This study should tell us whether this is in fact the case. If operating costs are ruled out as a factor, then overcharging cannot be justified by big chain stores.
“Recent surveys have shown that there are price differences of up to 30%. This study must establish whether the differences in operating costs would justify the high prices that recent surveys show are being charged.
“However, if retail business costs are indeed higher, then this must be addressed so that we can remain competitive. The Government must then show leadership on this matter.”
Other good news for the Irish consumer is the price of a barrel of oil on the world market has dropped by 7% in the last few weeks. Technically this should mean that the price of petrol and diesel should drop by a corresponding amount but some garages have been slow to react to the new market conditions.
Its not all good news however as the Irish consumer is set to hit by a 20% increase in gas prices.
“The 20% rise in gas prices from September and the additional rise planned for January 2009 is a double whammy for families already starting to feel the pressure of rising costs across the board,” Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD said last week.
He continued, “Instead of rubber stamping price increases, the regulator should be looking at how energy companies charge customers. For instance, the Irish consumer is forced to pay both investment and maintenance costs for the energy transmission network. This allows generating companies to pay off their capital debts on the back of over charged consumers.”
British retail giant Tesco has said that it is planning a 100 million Euro price cutting campaign aimed at luring back penny pinched shoppers who are finding better bargains at Lidl and Aldi.
Labour Senator Brendan Ryan said, “For many low income families the fact that Tesco Ireland is starting a price slashing campaign will be very welcome and hopefully Tesco will follow up the 1,000 products to be slashed with lots more.
“The Irish consumer has been enduring an extensive range of price hikes so this decision is very welcome and should go some small way to counter the fact that the cost of food has risen dramatically over the last year", said Mr Ryan.
“I again encourage consumers to change their shopping behaviour, and split their weekly shopping basket in order to get the best value available across a range of grocery items.”
Retailers such as Tesco have used the excuse that operating costs in Ireland are much more expensive than in the UK as an excuse for charging Irish consumers more for the same product. The Tainiste Mary Coughlan announced that she is to conduct a study into the validity of these claims.
Senator Brendan Ryan said, “This study should tell us whether this is in fact the case. If operating costs are ruled out as a factor, then overcharging cannot be justified by big chain stores.
“Recent surveys have shown that there are price differences of up to 30%. This study must establish whether the differences in operating costs would justify the high prices that recent surveys show are being charged.
“However, if retail business costs are indeed higher, then this must be addressed so that we can remain competitive. The Government must then show leadership on this matter.”
Other good news for the Irish consumer is the price of a barrel of oil on the world market has dropped by 7% in the last few weeks. Technically this should mean that the price of petrol and diesel should drop by a corresponding amount but some garages have been slow to react to the new market conditions.
Its not all good news however as the Irish consumer is set to hit by a 20% increase in gas prices.
“The 20% rise in gas prices from September and the additional rise planned for January 2009 is a double whammy for families already starting to feel the pressure of rising costs across the board,” Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD said last week.
He continued, “Instead of rubber stamping price increases, the regulator should be looking at how energy companies charge customers. For instance, the Irish consumer is forced to pay both investment and maintenance costs for the energy transmission network. This allows generating companies to pay off their capital debts on the back of over charged consumers.”
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