Stopping the Flow of Irish Money to the North

hammer1

try recessionbustours.ie im getting me shopping delivered to Dublin from ASDA in the north from me armchair. happy days

lmimmfn

just been upto newry, spent 400euro on a months shopping, easily half price, good stuff.
Feck spending it here, government taxes us like crazy and doesnt give us any incentive, yes the economy will lose loads of jobs because people arent spending money here( currently all i spend here now is for petrol and about 80 euro per month on newspapers, bread, milk etc. ), if the government doesnt care, why should we? we need to save every bit of money we can, decembers budget is next and by that stage i think it will be time to skip country for any PAYE 'subscriber'

Ill be glad if tesco close all their shops here, f*** them and their over hiked prices for us here, c***s!

Much as i love my country its going down the tubes quick and bigtime, its not my place to bail out idiots or contribute any longer to the greed infestation thats existed here or the past 10-12 years.

Its great that all those wa**ers that ripped us off over the past 10-12 years are suffering, but i aint bailing those idiots out, every cent i get charged in tax will be a cent that must be saved no matter how its to be saved and that means the government wont get 1 cent extra from me. In fact ill do my utmost to ensure they dont get 1 cent more than what i was paying last year in taxes.

Keep the flow going up north people, vote with your feet!!!!!!

colrow

One of the main reason's that its cheaper up north now, is because the £ has fallen in value by roughly a third, over the past year. Thats why the prices look extremely good. I work in the uk and get paid in sterling and when that gets exchanged I'm losing 100's of euro a week compared with a year ago.

There's eff all the government can do about that.!!!

I moved here 4 years ago from the uk, and found the prices about roughly 20% more expensive then, now its bloody ridiculous, but if/when the £ goes up in value, it won't be so worthwhile carrying on with the bloody stupid argument the government can do anything about it, except get us to agree to the Lisbon Treaty, but I don't know what that is all about anyway.

RiverWilde

I have been shopping in the North for years and it's been cheaper up there for as long as I can remember. Even when the exchange rate wasn't as favourable. Before the financial crisis people were willing to accept insane prices. That's over.

It isn't just prices though. People in the retail sector in NI realise that being a shopkeeper is a job and that the people coming in the shop doors are paying their wages. That is most definitely not the attitude amongst shopkeepers in the South. I am so sick of going into shops here and getting shoddy service for an inflated price.

Shoddy service, inflated prices and the attitude of the govt. here that they can tax the hell out of middle class and working class citizens, (in order to pay for their greedy mistakes) means that I and many others will not be spending in the south.

For me, shopkeepers in the south would not only have to match and beat northern prices, they'd have to give back the insane profits they took over the past ten years. That money could be used to pay for community services. Money that would have been available had the business sector not bled the market dry because of their greed.

Riv

Idbatterim

if the goverment raise paye or the pay levy again in december, we might aswell pack ouor bags! join the dole q, whats the point in working! honestly though, if those who work are going to be penalised again the people claiming welfare better be hit too! was in a hotel bar in dublin rcently a very popular one. asked for a glass of house white! €11.50 pe3r glass please sir... when she saw my reaction i got them for half price though!

OPENROAD

colrow wrote: »

One of the main reason's that its cheaper up north now, is because the £ has fallen in value by roughly a third, over the past year. .

Wasn't my experience to be honest, London was still cheaper than Dublin on many many items prior to the fx movement.

live2thewire

federal europe within the next 5 years, one currency, one minimum wage, tax rates set by eu not any irish goverment or british goverment, everything the same europe wide, or in european regions for example the uk and ireland and then people will have no incentive to shop in the north of ireland.

PeteHeat

live2thewire wrote: »

federal europe within the next 5 years, one currency, one minimum wage, tax rates set by eu not any irish goverment or british goverment, everything the same europe wide, or in european regions for example the uk and ireland and then people will have no incentive to shop in the north of ireland.

Wow,

Now that's a can of worms our Politicians would not like to see opened !

I agree with you, the timescale may be different I'm not sure it can be achieved within 5 years but certainly a runner.

The reason I think our politicians would not like to see that post gain momentum is I believe the Lisbon Treaty is just another step to achieving that goal.

It may not be the final step but looking at the other countries where the people did not get a vote and the bully tactics employed against the Irish who did and voted no suggests to me it stands for a lot more changes than we are being told about.

Of course Brian & Co. could not agree with you simply because they had not read it, the treaty that could not be changed or amended appears to have undergone a transformation to justify another vote.

Looking at the last two budgets (be generous and forget the previous ten) can we really say our elected leaders have this countries interest at heart ? or are they doing as they are told by Europe ?

Of course the above scenario would possibly make for a really stable Euro from which every E.U. citizen would benefit, the price could be the Dail would be nothing more than the equivelant of a County Council answering to Europe.

That would solve the question of shopping in the North.
.

colrow

OPENROAD wrote: »

Wasn't my experience to be honest, London was still cheaper than Dublin on many many items prior to the fx movement.

I did say that it appeared to me to be about 20% more expensive here, when I blew in 4 years ago, the only thing cheaper here was petrol and diesel, and its still cheaper than the uk.

Eating out is a rip off here, especially when you get mediocre service, I judge a place more on its friendliness now, as well as quality, I was in Dunnes store in Kilarney yesterday, and there seemed to be reasonably priced clothes in there, comparable to what I've seen in the uk, it didn't seem to be cheap sh1te either like whats dished out in the asda's of this world

K-9

PeteHeat wrote: »

Wow,

Now that's a can of worms our Politicians would not like to see opened !

I agree with you, the timescale may be different I'm not sure it can be achieved within 5 years but certainly a runner.

The reason I think our politicians would not like to see that post gain momentum is I believe the Lisbon Treaty is just another step to achieving that goal.

It may not be the final step but looking at the other countries where the people did not get a vote and the bully tactics employed against the Irish who did and voted no suggests to me it stands for a lot more changes than we are being told about.

I suppose you could say it was bullying, , but it'a very subjective opinion.

PeteHeat wrote:

Of course Brian & Co. could not agree with you simply because they had not read it, the treaty that could not be changed or amended appears to have undergone a transformation to justify another vote.

Indeed, he didn't read every single minute detail of it. It would be a waste of his time to do it as he'd end up asking EU Law experts for their opinion anyway. Instead all these highly paid advisors give them their advice. A CEO of a multinational does not read every single detail of complex legal contracts either.

Also your understanding of the changes and amendments is incorrect. There has been no changes or amendments, a thing other critics throw at the Govt. There are promises to insert guarentees into a future Treaty, probably the Croatian one.

PeteHeat wrote:

Looking at the last two budgets (be generous and forget the previous ten) can we really say our elected leaders have this countries interest at heart ? or are they doing as they are told by Europe ?

Actually it's the 5 of the previous ten that have us in this mess. Just because the money was rolling in doesn't make them good budgets. If anything the last 2 mini ones at least are realistic.

PeteHeat wrote:

Of course the above scenario would possibly make for a really stable Euro from which every E.U. citizen would benefit, the price could be the Dail would be nothing more than the equivelant of a County Council answering to Europe.

That would solve the question of shopping in the North.
.

A number of problems with that, not least of all, GB giving up Sterling.

getz

colrow wrote: »

I did say that it appeared to me to be about 20% more expensive here, when I blew in 4 years ago, the only thing cheaper here was petrol and diesel, and its still cheaper than the uk.

Eating out is a rip off here, especially when you get mediocre service, I judge a place more on its friendliness now, as well as quality, I was in Dunnes store in Kilarney yesterday, and there seemed to be reasonably priced clothes in there, comparable to what I've seen in the uk, it didn't seem to be cheap sh1te either like whats dished out in the asda's of this world

i dont know what world you live in -petrol in the uk to day[and i have just filled my tank] is 92.9 thats less than 1 euro when i was in gorey in feb it was 1.15-asda clothing [by george] is cheep yes but the quality is good ,if when you lived in the uk and it was in london i feel very sorry for you-london is like dublin a rip off, next time you go over to the uk come north young man -prices are far cheeper and people more friendly

colrow

Petrol down here is 92 c litre, in Glasgow(is that north enuff for you) its 98 p

cbreeze

Dummy wrote: »

Use the occasion to press home this issue with the people that call to your door or stop you on the street. The time for small talk is over. Don't let them start a sentence with "at the end of the day" or "going forward". This political mumbo jumbo talk is not going to get us out of the hole we are in.

Press home the need for action NOW.

We are so cross with politicians that we have a sign on the door 'no canvassers'. We were cross the last election and the sign worked.

OPENROAD

getz wrote: »

if, next time you go over to the uk come north young man -prices are far cheeper and people more friendly

nah Londoners are more friendly imo :P

OPENROAD

cbreeze wrote: »

We are so cross with politicians that we have a sign on the door 'no canvassers'. We were cross the last election and the sign worked.

Will be very interesting to see what happens in the local elections, opinion polls suggest that FF have not been hit too hard.

smk89

Dummy wrote: »

Instead of Irish shoppers going outside the State to get that bargain, let's learn from the experience and change the market into one where the shoppers coming flocking to our state.

Don't you think your being a little stuck up your own ass. I hate nationalism. "Wooh go [Generic Country Name] We rule!!!" Sounds a little fratboy-ish really.

Northern Ireland is my home but I live in the South and if I may voice my opinion buisness down here isn't failing because you lose it to the North. Its because you have the gawl to charge double what we charge. I understand the differences in the tax systems between the 2 countries but if anyone lets their nationalistic pride come between them and a bargin in the north then i fart in their general direction.

And besides I only see nationalism on 2 occasions: St Patrick's Day (when we all get drunk) and when you lose money to your northern neighbours.

Geog

There's no question but there is a certain amount of false economy going on with many of the shoppers travelling north. Firstly, there is the cost of getting there (not to mention the time). Secondly, there is definitely an element of people buying things because they are cheap, NOT because they want them and certainly not because they need them. Finally, our economy is losing big time (a certain amount of that is due to our government) but it's never going to recover if we send all of our money out of the country.

Mr.Micro

OPENROAD wrote: »

Will be very interesting to see what happens in the local elections, opinion polls suggest that FF have not been hit too hard.

Yes the local elections are a different animal to a general election. Its the local councillor that people vote for no matter what party. I will bet many voters would be hard pressed to know the party of their local councillor......lucky for FF.

Finally, our economy is losing big time (a certain amount of that is due to our government) but it's never going to recover if we send all of our money out of the country.

Well we have been ripped off big time in the boom and now its the retailers who do not want to adjust. As a poster said earlier they have the gall to charge twice as much in the south as NI.

amacachi

Geog wrote: »

There's no question but there is a certain amount of false economy going on with many of the shoppers travelling north. Firstly, there is the cost of getting there (not to mention the time). Secondly, there is definitely an element of people buying things because they are cheap, NOT because they want them and certainly not because they need them. Finally, our economy is losing big time (a certain amount of that is due to our government) but it's never going to recover if we send all of our money out of the country.

The getting there money is very little, and it can be treated as a day out as well. Plus the fact that there's free parking means that that cost can be taken out of travel compared to shopping down here.

There are some good deals to be had in the south, but for the most part the bargains up north aren't going to be beaten down here. Things like nappies and other childcare stuff are much cheaper up north (and have been for a long time, even before the exchange rate changed) as well as toiletries.

The only false economy involved with shopping up north is the fact that the money is going out of the economy. That's just how things work. We "boomed" too hard and now we're going to hit the bottom with an almighty thud.

eddiehobbs

Mr.Micro wrote: »

Well we have been ripped off big time in the boom and now its the retailers who do not want to adjust. As a poster said earlier they have the gall to charge twice as much in the south as NI.

I work in retail and your opinion that the retailers are somehow making huge priofits and not passing it on is wrong, completly wrong. Loads of businesses are closing around the country especially in the border areas and its not because they dont want to adjust, its because they cant

K-9

amacachi wrote: »

The getting there money is very little, and it can be treated as a day out as well. Plus the fact that there's free parking means that that cost can be taken out of travel compared to shopping down here.

Grand, depreciation, extra wear and tear, extra mileage which makes your car worth less than if you stayed local, do that every week and your car is worth less, STRESS and extra STRESS stuck in traffic jams, kids seeing you stressed out etc.

If the money is very little getting you there, then petrol/diesel must be very little here? Yes?

Superquinn closed in Dundalk. That was sad to see.

jimmycrackcorm

Powers whiskey 1Lbottle: Centra €41, ASDA £18:50. Someone please explain how a Dublin whiskey is half price across the border.

K-9

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Powers whiskey 1Lbottle: Centra €41, ASDA £18:50. Someone please explain how a Dublin whiskey is half price across the border.

Excise duty, taxes, sterling difference, minimum wage, business rates, higher lecky etc. etc.

You'd swear that by some stroke of magic the same high costs that we all complain about do not apply to retailers?

Plus you'd be mad paying that in Centra.

Cheaper in Tesco.

mikemac

cbreeze wrote: »

We are so cross with politicians that we have a sign on the door 'no canvassers'. We were cross the last election and the sign worked.

Some young candidate is going to take that as a challenge and try even harder with you

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Powers whiskey 1Lbottle: Centra €41, ASDA £18:50. Someone please explain how a Dublin whiskey is half price across the border.

Centra are more expensive for most things, it's a convenience store. You can't compare Centra to ASDA, it's not a valid comparison at all.

eddiehobbs

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Powers whiskey 1Lbottle: Centra €41, ASDA £18:50. Someone please explain how a Dublin whiskey is half price across the border.

For all the reasons that k9 outlined above plus thats obviously a city centre convenience centra your using as a comparison, they also would have security costs to factor in aswell. That said, its well overpriced, recomended retail is lower than that.

eddiehobbs

mikemac wrote: »

Centra are more expensive for most things, it's a convenience store. You can't compare Centra to ASDA, it's not a valid comparison at all.

Not all centra's are convenience stores. a city centre centra would be a lot less competitive price wise than a centra down the country

K-9

eddiehobbs wrote: »

Not all centra's are convenience stores. a city centre centra would be a lot less competitive price wise than a centra down the country

As would a Tesco convenience store Vs. a Tesco supermarket? Yes?

eoinbn

Mr.Micro wrote: »

Well we have been ripped off big time in the boom and now its the retailers who do not want to adjust. As a poster said earlier they have the gall to charge twice as much in the south as NI.

Can people please switch their brains on for a few minutes? Done? Ok listen.

Firstly, it's not twice as expensive in the south or anywhere near it. Secondly, we are in a ripoff cycle so lets not blame the retailers. They, the retailers, are also been 'ripped off' so they feel they must charge more to make it back.

If was possible to compete with NI retailers don't you think that someone, somewhere would of came up with the bright idea of lowering prices and taking back the costumers that have been lost? Or are these business people so stupid that they refuse to keep their shops open unless they can achieve a 50% profit on each item?
A lot of retailers are in the same position as the general public. They can't afford to cut prices, a wage cut for joe soap, as they won't be able to pay the bills, so their only option is to keep prices high and hope for the best. This is no different to public sector workers refusing to take cuts, as some PS workers are up to their eyeballs in debt, even though they know that the government will go bankrupt without doing it.

amacachi

K-9 wrote: »

Grand, depreciation, extra wear and tear, extra mileage which makes your car worth less than if you stayed local, do that every week and your car is worth less, STRESS and extra STRESS stuck in traffic jams, kids seeing you stressed out etc.

If the money is very little getting you there, then petrol/diesel must be very little here? Yes?

Superquinn closed in Dundalk. That was sad to see.

How much extra would you devalue an 8 year old car which was travelling 40 minutes along a motorway-standard road once a week instead of over speed bumps and through potholes 3/4 times a week?
As I said, for people travelling from further away it can be treated as a day out, so most people aren't in a crazy hurry to get there and back and don't get all that stressed about a bit of traffic.

The petrol probably costs around the same each side of the border now, but from where I am it's about a fiver's worth of petrol to get there and back if ya know the way to go. Even with more expensive petrol once ya buy a big box of nappies you've more than made the money back.


Yep, sad to see. They admitted themselves though that they were having it tough there for a long time, no-one I know can work out how they managed to stay open for the last 4/5 years.

bobbbb

Geog wrote: »

There's no question but there is a certain amount of false economy going on with many of the shoppers travelling north. Firstly, there is the cost of getting there (not to mention the time). Secondly, there is definitely an element of people buying things because they are cheap, NOT because they want them and certainly not because they need them.

From Dublin to Newry.
€20 return in Petrol in a 1.6 litre car.
€3 for the toll bridge.

Takes less than an hour to get there, Learned the back roads .

Buying food - I need that, not because i just want it.
Do a month or 2 months shopping at a time. Save roughly 50%.
I wont be spending anything, bar on milk and fruit, petrol in the south anymore.

Anything else i decide to buy here, i'll check the price up North too now.
If it makes sense to go up then i'll get it on my next shopping trip up north.

And Im not short of money at all - i just hate being ripped off.
So how are people who really are short of money going to react?