People before Profit call for state-owned supermarkets

Ottoline Spearman

People Before Profit is calling for state-owned supermarkets to help make food more affordable.

The opposition party is proposing the creation of a pilot scheme, designed to improve access to food that is both locally sourced and nutritious.

It is hoped that the project would lead to benefits for shoppers - making food cheaper, and encouraging people to eat more healthily. 

Food prices have skyrocketed in recent years, with prices 12 per cent above the EU27 average in 2024. This made Ireland the second most expensive in the Eurozone, and third most expensive in the EU27.

Speaking on Newstalk, Dublin City Councillor Conor Reddy outlined what the pilot project would look like:

"This is a pilot project, it'd be quite a modest one. We're talking three to five stores and a central hub for distribution at the start. It's not a buy everything kind of shop that we're talking about.

"Instead, what we're talking about is a place to buy your staples, a place to buy nutritious veg and meat, hopefully supplied by local producers. So it brings in sustainability."