Utilities Rates Question

coyote6

We're moving to Dublin from the States in '08. The company from this side has estimated utility costs rather low for Dublin we think. What are the average costs for: Water, Sewer, Rubbish, Electricity, Heat, Cable, Internet, Phone (and whatever else I forgot )? Thanks for any info.

constitutionus

we dont have rates in ireland so sewage and water are free. that said they are trying to introduce water rates in 09 so you should get at least a years free

refuse charges were free too till recently (see getting stabbed in the back by a labour lord mayor :rolleyes: ) so it really depends what council area your moving too . im in south dublin so we use bin tags which means the more you put it out the more it costs. i think its circa 8 euro a tag now (dont use em myself, found another way !) so on a 52 week year your talking the guts of 420 euro.

electricity's gone up 20 % in the last year and gas by 33% though thats coming down but it'd still be 20% higher than last year. my last electricity bill was 95 and my gas was 176. bear in mind thats over a two month period and it was coming out of winter where you'd use much more of both than usual. plus its a house so if your gettin an appartment it'd probably be cheaper.

cable is pretty much a monopoly so its a bitch. basic package is circa 45 euro (cant find bill but its around that) and the cnuts wont let new people sign up without a direct debit mandate cause they dont like using cash lodgements. in fact theyre pretty much a bastard to deal with so if you have alot of greif in the area your in get a satalite dish.

internet USED to be a monopoly hence why its the most expensive in western europe. but if you root around you can get a good deal. im with smart telecom. they used to do phone and broadband but a hard ball showdown with eircom (the former monopoly and biggest player in the field) resulted in them being a broadband service only. still you get 4meg download and free line rental for 39 euro. eircoms the biggest player but the most expensive so if youve got the chance shop around BEFORE you move in as it'll take weeks to get a competitor signed over from em (deliberate practice to put off customers, follows by em calling on you every year to get you to come back over )

line rental is a bollocks here, its about 30 euro last time i checked and exists solely as a cash cow for eircom. do yourself a favor and invest in a mobile. theres more competition there than in the fixed line business so you'll get a better deal. particualarly as theres so many packages out there depending on your needs.

a good site to check out telecom stuff , phone and broadband, is callcosts.ie . its a government site set up by the regulator to promote competion so check that out.


oh and despite all the "low tax ecomomy" nonsense you'll here from our politicians theres a shed load of hidden "stealth" taxes. bank charges for instance are extortionate, currently TSB is offering the best deal so far, and theres annual charges on credit cards (40 euro) and debit cards ( 10 euro). the last two are on EACH card so if your stuck opening accounts here. which you'll probably will be (remember you'll need a passport and utility bill to open an account) try and stick to just one of each. technically its a government levy so it doesnt go to the bank but its still cash out of your pocket


lastly housing it the single biggest expense in the country! if your getting a house/ appartment from the company well done if not rent in dublin is circa 900 to 1600 A MONTH (the lower price is for a one bedroom appartment which ISNT that big. the latter is average for a good house ) the average price of a house to buy is 400k. the market has stalled but its still ridiculously prohibitive. so much so practically everyone under 30's having to buy outside dublin if they want a home.

that 400k house to buy would cost circa 1800 month and interest rates are due to go up at least twice more this year. and wont nescessairly in a good area either

hope this was helpfull to you

coyote6

Very helpful. Are there many public wireless hotspots anywhere? I didn't bring my laptop last time to check.

constitutionus

sorry i kept editing my post, kept remembering more stuff

internet accesess is crap in ireland. practically no ones got decent broadband (think the figuer is around 5 to 10 % ). there are hotspots and indeed there are plans to make the entire inner city area one big one but so far the only one i know is in the stevens green shopping center.

that said im sure someone else here will know more !

spurious

Refuse charges vary depending on the bin type you use and where you live. I'm close to the city centre and we're still on bags. The bag tags cost 2.65 each at the moment.

I second Smart as the telecom/broadband provider of choice - if you can get it. Much faster and much cheaper than Eircom.

BendiBus

For free hotspots check out http://www.free-hotspot.com/ They have a few locations around central Dublin and elsewhere.

I use the one in Cafe Noto on Thomas St, and the connection is excellent, especially as it's free.

coyote6

I've been shopping daft.ie to get a feel for things. I'm guessing on a let at around 1600 (3 double bedrooms). I'm looking in Clontarf, Raheny, Fairview, Marino and that area. I've seen a few that look good but pictures lie and I know scams abound so I'll wait until my boots are on the ground.

Thanks for the heads up. Now if I could figure out how to get around the motorbike license waiting period.:rolleyes: