Price increases – why blame retailers
Irish Times podcast probed rising supermarket prices, yet its own cover price rose 27% without passing VAT savings to readers
Print22 July 2025
A recent Irish Times podcast explored food price hikes, but overlooked its own 27% cover price rise since 2019.
A podcast aired this week by the Irish Times entitled “Supermarkets ripping off Irish Shoppers?” had its consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope speaking with Sorcha Pollack.
Finger pointing
It was, on the whole, quite fair in setting out many of the true reasons why prices are increasing and pointed the finger further up the supply chain (as well as natural disasters and external conflicts).
The CSNA is reminded that, in its most simple exposition, it can look at the cover price that the Irish Times have printed on their masthead over the past 5 years.
The CSNA aim to remind that these printed prices include the price that did not change downwards after Irish taxpayers gave the publishers a windfall when 9% VAT was reclassified as a 0% VAT product.
The €3.70 price remained as the price.
€3.30 December 2019 – December 2020
€3.50 January 2021 – December 2021
€3.70 December 2021 – February 2023
€3.90 March 2023 – December 2023
€4.00 December 2023 – November 2024
€4.20 November 2024
90c increase since December 2019.
This 90c increase represents a 27.3% increase and may, undoubtedly be justified by way of cost increases to the Irish Times – the impartial aspect is that at no time does the retailer put up the price until the wholesale price was increased.
Read more: CSNA launches new website
© 2025, ShelfLife by Laura Kelly
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