Dundalk Leader article about shopping up North

Clam

tonym467 wrote: »

Most are tendered to companies from the north who import all their concrete,stone,blocks and much more without having to pay vat. tax,prsi and wages going north.:mad::mad::mad:

Southern business benefit just as much from the same tax entitlements as much as northern business does here, Lets be honest we pissed most of our wealth against the wall, when the country has truly sunk ship, the only thing we will be able to show for the boom is the roads, which by the way have turned to a big pile of overgrown Shiite in the last while, weeds galore

Wertz

Clam wrote: »

But the answer is that simple, we have the highest cost of living in europe, we had more wages we had more spend, Look we can buy anything in japan or thailand for cheaper because its a lower cost of living, Britain has had one of the lowest costs of living in europe in the last few years, the cost add up, Our mini-um wage packet here is 8 quid, 7 pound, britian has a minimum wage is 4.65, that adds up, We shot ourselves in the foot though, If we want stuff for cheaper we gotta work for less, or not work at all

....and I say again that minimum wage rates are not the sole contributing factor here (nor are VAT differential or higher taxes).
Since I posted that there have been a few more enquiries into price differences by Dáil commitees (speaking of the overpaid) and the upshot seemed to be that certain suppliers in the market are/have been milking the country en masse and that in many areas high rents are a major contributor as well...that explains some grocery/domestic goods being so out of kilter with the UK, but it doesn't get near to making up for the discrepancies for the likes of electronics and furniture...and I'm sorry but the reactions of retailers here are still failing to impress...most of the reductions I've noticed are piecemeal and fail to impress.
Listen, I agree that we've all been paying each other too much but to say that the minimum wage is the main focus of that problem is foolish...I'm far more concerned with the highly waged public sector (yadda yadda) being paid for excusively from the tax pool, as a contributing factor to the high costs of doing business here than I am about what checkout staff and shelfpackers get for their 39 hours hard graft. You can't in good conscience blame the lowest paid for this whole set of problems and to do so is mere scapegoating and smacks of the rhetoric of big business and central government.

EBIW

I'm from the North or "Nort" as you call it.

If seen this work both ways for years especially with fuel prices. Fuel was a lot cheaper in the "Nort" and Petrol Stations sprung up all over the "Nortern" side of the border.

Then the pendlum swung the other way and a lot of them closed.

Your low corporation tax was a master stroke as you attracted all the foriegn investment from large American companies etc whilst we were lumbered with the UK rate.

Looking from the outside in, I think ROI has been living above it's means for years now, every holiday resort in europe full with partying Irish people while Ireland was full of Polish people doing the all the work!

You got away with it for a lot longer than I thought you would but now it's pay back time.

A lot of things need to change now, some are within your power but some are not.

Minimum wage needs reduced to match UK, VAT needs reduced to match UK you simply cannot have big tax variations with a land bordering country. These are within your power and should be done now.

Another problem is currency rates and a 30% swing against the currency of a land bordered country is going to cause problems.

Unfortunately this is out of your control because you don't have your own currency, you don't have control over your interest rates and hence cannot control inflation/deflation.

The Euro has it's good points, has became a very strong currency (maybe too strong) displacing the US$ as the currency of choice for a lot of international trade but may not be the best thing for Ireland at the mo.

I'm glad we're not in the Euro and sterling is weak at the moment because I think we need a weak currency to help exports and discourage imports at this time of ecomonic downturn.

Good luck to all and keep bringing your lovely, much appreciated Euros "Nort!"

Stephen

Belfast

Mr Magnolia

If you think the problems arose due to the influx of workers from Europe and the Irish taking holidays abroad then you're deluded. We needed people from all over Europe to fill positions that needed to be filled due to the booming economy of the celtic tiger. Nobody forseen the swing but it's here and it's global.

There may be advantages if the punt was still our currency of use, devaluing it would cause problems it's own problems though. Europe and the euro has served us very well to date and will continue to do so especially as a border county.

Me? I don't shop any more from the UK or elsewhere now than I did before, I'll do what I've always done and continue to support local industry and local business.



Oh and by the way, you're the only one referring to it as 'Nort'.

EBIW

Hello

I didn't say there was one reason, I think there are many factors. I know it's a global downturn and doesn't just effect ROI but you are a particular basket case one of the PIGS (which should be spelt with 2 i's).

Of course holidays weren't to blame nor were foriegn workers but they were general indicators of an unsustainable situation. A country living beyond it's means, spending more than it was earning. Getting away with it because of artificially cheap money made available by an interest rate out of sync with your ecomony.

Sure look on the bright side, it was great fun while it lasted, I was jealous!

The "Nort" ting was just a wee joke! Has Ireland lost it's sense of humor too?

Stephen

Belfast

Mr Magnolia

I find myself disagreeing with the detail, but that's where the devil hides:

We weren't spending more than we were earning, we were earning multitudes. The proof is there; we had increased spending across all sectors while we also reduced our national debt by record amounts. Of course, we weren't conservative [enough] in our spending and mostly mismanaged what we did spend, our national debt is most certainly going to rise as a result of the mismanaged boom.

Humour is subjective, I didn't detect humerous tones in your original post.

EBIW

"Humour is subjective, I didn't detect humerous tones in your original post."

No probs but I thought the would have been enough.

Stephen

Belfast

Mr Magnolia

EBIW wrote: »

No probs but I thought the would have been enough.

Stephen

Belfast

That little smiley is misunderstood everywhere he goes

Welcome to the boards by the way.

EBIW

LOL, I only ended up here googling for Dundalk Leader because my picture might be in it! Their photographer took a photo of me and GF and charity hill walk up the cooleys from Lumpers in Ravensdale on Sunday.

Sorry, I cause trouble everywhere I go!

Stephen

Belfast

Mr Magnolia

I'll have a look this evening and let you know if there's any of shots from Ravensdale there.

Mr Magnolia

EBIW wrote: »

LOL, I only ended up here googling for Dundalk Leader because my picture might be in it! Their photographer took a photo of me and GF and charity hill walk up the cooleys from Lumpers in Ravensdale

Nothing of that nature that I could see I'm afraid.

hellboy99

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

We needed people from all over Europe to fill positions that needed to be filled due to the booming economy of the celtic tiger.

Most of them were working for less than minimum wage, they weren't brought in to "fill positions that needed to be filled", they were cheap labour so their employers could get richer.

markopantelic

if it wasn't for them prices would have been through the roof.

Mr Magnolia

hellboy99 wrote: »

Most of them were working for less than minimum wage, they weren't brought in to "fill positions that needed to be filled", they were cheap labour so their employers could get richer.

It's widely accepted that Ireland needed to bring in workers from abroad to fill positions that we could not fill otherwise, look at the number of Filipino nurses for example.

While I agree that exploitation occured, I won't accept that "most" of them were working for less than minimum wage. In economic good times trade unions flourish, most large sites and businesses where the majority of these workers were/are based are trade union compliant and rates would have to be paid. Smaller mostly unregulated businesses may have been less scrupulous but these are certainly in the minority in my opinion.

EBIW

Perhaps some were working below the minium wage. Most were working for lower wages than their Irish counterparts for longer hours and often in unpleasant conditions.
The problem is, they have since left with or sent home a lot of that money.
The oppisite happened years ago, with Irish people standing on street corners in London hoping to be picked up for a days work on a building site.
In a few years we could be going to Poland in search of work!

Stephen

Belfast

markopantelic

well actually did you know that there is a growing trend of homeless eastern europeans and northern europeans(lithuanians, latvians)

mada999

well i've had enough about publicans complaining about no one going to pubs..

I was in a very well known and frequented pub about 2 months ago in Dundalk and they are selling uk bottles of Carlsberg (the 3.8% smaller ones that you get in the north) for the same price of a normal bottle....they have some cheek...fook em i say... if they want people in the pubs - get them to lower their prices.. greedy fooks..

TommyT

Is there a pub in town that isnt selling drink from the north?

With todays exchange rate is it really worth going to Newry these days for the weekly shop?

mada999

TommyT wrote: »

Is there a pub in town that isnt selling drink from the north?

wha? there's others? is this not illegal???

TommyT

Go to Dunnes and Sainsburys any day of the week and you will see vans and jeeps with horseboxes filling up with drink. My nephew works in Dunnesand he says there is one man comes up from the south in a D reg jeep and horsebox, he spends 70k regularly.

mada999

TommyT wrote: »

Go to Dunnes and Sainsburys any day of the week and you will see vans and jeeps with horseboxes filling up with drink. My nephew works in Dunnesand he says there is one man comes up from the south in a D reg jeep and horsebox, he spends 70k regularly.

well tbh I'm sick of payin "irish" prices for cheaper uk drink....

TommyT

Go to Newry then, I wouldnt normally complain, but the publicans arent passing on the savings to their customers.

tweety76

mada999 wrote: »

well i've had enough about publicans complaining about no one going to pubs..

I was in a very well known and frequented pub about 2 months ago in Dundalk and they are selling uk bottles of Carlsberg (the 3.8% smaller ones that you get in the north) for the same price of a normal bottle....they have some cheek...fook em i say... if they want people in the pubs - get them to lower their prices.. greedy fooks..

Was in a pub recently in Bettystown and they are at the same craic selling the 275ml bottles of UK beer, cheeky!!

EBIW

Who's the good looking fella on page 28 LOL.

Stephen

DublinWriter

jprender wrote: »

My petrol costs are more than covered by not having to pay parking charges in the Marshes.

Living in Meath right now, but had to vist the Marshes last year and almost died laughing that they're charging for the car-park.

I mean, what f*cking planet are they on when 15 miles up the road you can not only avail of UK pricing but also park your car for free in either the Quays or Buttercrane in Newry?

hellboy99

The Dundalk Leader is at it again, todays front page story; "Shop local to save jobs".

Don't get me wrong I'm all for saving jobs but for the Leader to base this story on a biased and misleading section that was aired on TV3's Midweek program is just wrong. Anyone that didn't see it can watch it online here:

http://www.tv3.ie/videos.php?video=2...full_episodes=

Section is 12:30 in.


Basically TV3 sent one reporter to Sainsburys in Newry and the other shopped here in the south. First off they picked one of the dearest stores up there, why didn't they pick Asda or Iceland ? Not only that but instead of comparing prices on like for like store brands i.e. Dunnes own brands to Sainsburys, Asda or Iceland they went for top brand names.

The woman they sent up north had to take a day off work, did she not know about late opening ? She had to stop for a coffee and then lunch, and to top that off it cost her €23.50 in petrol to get up to Newry from Dublin and she had to fill the tank again on her way home, her car must have a hole in the petrol tank.

Families that I know that are shopping up north myself included, top named brand items do not matter. I've shopped in Sainsburys once and have never gone back as there are huge price differences between them, Asda and Iceland.

Here's two examples: Dunnes Family Beef Lasagne 1kg is €4 here, Asda it's £2.97 (€3.50) and in Iceland it's £2 (€2.35). Not only that, but the quality of the Asda and Iceland brands are a lot better than the like of Dunnes in most cases. Goodfellas Deep Pan Pizza Range 407g in Dunnes is €2, Asda price £1 (€1.18).

Also in the Leader article it's states that prices have fallen in the last 18 months, clearly they have not done any research as food prices this year alone so far have rose by 0.1%, non-alcoholic drinks rose by 1.7 per cent the list goes on....

bigneacy

I'll be honest... We stopped doing our shopping up the north for a few months and done it all in Tesco in Drogheda (the nice big 24hr one).

We took a notion and went up to Sainsburys last week, we had a trolley full of goods. The OH was worried, saying I hope its less than €300 because I want to get a few bits sorted for santy today while we're here.

Imagine our shock when our total was €166 (EURO). And these weren't Sainsburys own brand. Mostly top branded stuff.

We actually forgot what good value was from shopping down south. Never again. we are being robbed in our own country. The Leader can stick their rag of a paper up their holes.

If we went to Asda it probably would have been €100 (EURO)

10green bottles

:rolleyes:Imagine that,a free sheet stuffed full of adverts from local businesses advocates shopping in Dundalk.

amacachi

Certain things are well worth heading north for that aren't alcohol or fags, toiletries and non-prescription drugs being the main ones. I won't go into depth but generic painkillers are available for under a quid for a little bottle of them and things like razors, deodorants, condoms, nappies, etc. are usually far cheaper. LOLs are often had here when special offers from places down here are on TV that just about bring the price into line with the prices over the border.
Certain foods are a lot cheaper as well and some of the "value" brands are of far higher quality than similarly-marketed but higher priced items down here.

ssmith6287

Have to laugh, same people encouraging to spend the money in a "foreign country" are the ones that will give out about low employment and the knock on high prices.

If businesses arent getting the custom they have to increase price or they cant survive.

Cant speak for dundalk but local businesses in drogheda are payin massive council rates, 40k a year in most cases. Maybe we should get rid of them, make the everyday person pay them and then retailers can lower the prices. Would that make you happy?? (I pay taxes through my eye balls but my tin of beans is 2 cent cheaper)

IMHO If you earn your money your entitled to do what you wish but if you get social then it should be in some form of spend in Ireland only money because im sick of everybody spending my money in foreign lands and then me having to pay more tax to compensate.

And it sickens me to call the north foreign lands but unfortunately in this context ive no choice

Rant over