Over 40% of parents say they are skipping meals to feed their kids. Inflation is hitting poorer households harder. The cost of living crisis is having a devastating effect on many working people. But corporations have been increasing prices for households while reporting huge increased profits.
· The ESB (including Electric Ireland) recorded an operating profit of over €1.1 billion in 2023, up over €274m on 2022. Electricity prices are still around 70% to 80% above where they were three years ago.
· Tesco recently announced that it now expected retail adjusted operating profit in Britain and Ireland of around £2.9 billion for the 2024/25 year. But food process have gone up by 20% in the last three years.
· Both AIB and Bank of Ireland made €1.1 billion in the first half of 2024 due mainly to higher interest rates. Between July 2022 and September 2023, they were raised to 4.5%. Mortgage interest payments have gone up by 11% in the last year.
Give Working people a Break
People Before Profit has been arguing for price controls on energy, food and mortgages. Why should we suffer when the corporations are making loads of money. We have introduced bills in the Dáil to:
· Control the price of groceries and establish a Groceries Price Cap Commission to set maximum prices for food. Existing powers available to the Government under the Consumer Protection Act 2007 allow it to introduce price controls.
· Place a maximum price on gas, oil, electricity, petrol and diesel. Electricity would be capped at 25c per kilowatt hour. The current standard rate for Electric Ireland is 34.8c per kilowatt hour, including VAT.
· Cap interest rates at 3%. We want to use the existing power of the government to direct the Central Bank to make the banks to do this. Some people whose mortgages are held by vulture funds are paying up to 9%. The ECB rate is currently 3.4%
Of course, the government opposed all of this because it would interfere with the operation of the market.
People Before Profit want to protect working people. That is why we want price controls, a cap on mortgage interest rates and a return of the ESB to a not-for-profit mandate.