Ireland is most expensive country in EU after Denmark as prices continue to soar

Irish Independent

6 hours ago

Prices here are 38pc above the EU average – we are behind only Denmark when it comes to high costs.
In 2015, prices in Ireland were 28pc above the average, but since then Ireland has been getting increasingly more expensive.
The findings, from the statistics agency Eurostat, will put a new focus on the Government's decision not to pay out universal cost-of-living packages in the next budget.
Eurostat found that when it comes to alcohol and tobacco, prices here are the most expensive in the EU – more than double the average.
Daragh Cassidy, of price comparison site Bonkers.ie, said this is due to taxation and, more recently, minimum unit pricing on alcohol.
When it comes to alcohol, prices here are the second-highest in the EU. Finland has the dearest.
Food and non-alcoholic drink prices here are the third-highest in the EU at almost 15pc above the EU average.
We are behind only Luxembourg and Denmark when it comes to what we pay for food.
However, this is an improvement on recent years, as these prices were more than 21pc above average in 2020.
Ireland's restaurant and hotel prices are the second-highest in the EU – Denmark's are dearest – at 29pc above the average.
Communications costs are almost 40pc above average.
Ireland is the third-most-expensive country for electricity, gas and fuel, with prices 17pc above the average.
However, clothing prices in Ireland are 1pc below the EU average and cheaper than in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.
Mr Cassidy said Ireland will never be a cheap place to live
Non-EU countries Iceland, Norway and Switzerland were also included in the research and generally have prices higher than those in Ireland.
Mr Cassidy said we have known for a while that Ireland is an expensive country and these figures from Eurostat confirm that.
'There are several reasons why prices here are so high,' he said. 'These include our higher wages, a lack of competition in certain sectors, high taxation on certain goods such as tobacco, alcohol and fuel, and lower government subsidies in certain areas such as public transport and childcare compared to our European neighbours.'
He said businesses are also faced with high insurance and energy costs, which then get passed on to consumers.
Mr Cassidy said Ireland will never be a cheap place to live.
'And it's worth noting that many of the world's most expensive countries, such as Switzerland, Iceland and Denmark, also have some of the highest standards of living in the world,' he added.
He said wages in Ireland, while high by international standards, generally do not match the salaries in those countries.
At the same time, taxpayers in more expensive countries tend to get back more from their governments in terms of better and more affordable healthcare, childcare and public transport, though there have been improvements made here in recent years.
Mr Cassidy called for the Government to lower the standard rate of Vat, which at 23pc is one of the highest in the world.