The Social Democrats has said that its bill to provide "greater powers" to the Agri-Food Regulator will be introduced next week.

The party's TD for Wicklow, Jennifer Whitmore, said that "more and more families are being priced out of essential goods as grocery costs continue to rise".

The TD said that she would be introducing the party's bill - the Agri-Food Regulator (Amendment) Bill 2026 - next Tuesday (January 20).

Whitmore said that the bill would give the regulator more powers "within three months".

This comes after the government announced the introduction of the new regulations which, it said, is part of an effort to strengthen transparency and fairness across the agri-food supply chain.

However, the Social Democrats have criticised these new regulations as they do not come into force until the end of 2026.

Whitmore said: "Everyday items continue to rise in price in supermarkets. The Consumer Price Index for December 2025 shows that butter, milk and bread among others essentials, cost more than they did the year previously.

She added: "The government's move to give the Agri-Food Regulator additional powers won't come into effect until the end of 2026, over two years after the Agri-Food Regulator asked for the powers to improve transparency in food supply chains."

Whitmore called this delay "outrageous", adding that this is against a backdrop of "the cost of living in this country, which continues to skyrocket".

The TD said it is "more important than ever that we can see a breakdown of the costs being incurred by producers in the agri-food sector".

Additional powers

Additional government-granted powers allowing the Agri-Food Regulator to compel businesses to supply information to support its price market reporting role will come into force at the end of this year.

Last month, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon announced the introduction of the new regulations.

The recently published legislation, or statutory instrument (SI), has confirmed that the additional powers will come into operation on December 31, 2026.

Under the regulations, the regulator may compel necessary data impacting upon price and margins from a business within the agri-food supply chain where information sought by the regulator has not been provided voluntarily.

However, the regulations will exclude small businesses, which are defined as those which employ fewer than 50 people and whose annual turnover does not exceed €10 million.

The legislation also means that the regulator cannot compel data for an individual product from any business more than once in a 12-month period.

Appeal

In cases where the regulator is not satisfied that it has been provided with information from a business that it requires to carry out its work, it will issue an information notice detailing the type of price and market data it needs.

The period within which the business has to comply with the notice cannot be less than 28 days. If a business fails to comply with the notice it will be deemed to be an offence.

Businesses may appeal against a requirement specified in the notice to the circuit court in accordance with the regulation within seven working days of the notice being served.

A judge may, if they are satisfied that it is reasonable to do so, confirm, vary or cancel the notice.