Rip of Ireland versus other E U contries

margarite

Hi I recently spent some time in Germany, and compared to here it is much cheaper to 1. Eat out, 2. Supermarket prices (VAT is much higher here in Ireland) a bottle of vodka is 10 Euro, and as for the beer its a lot cheaper to have a few bottles there as compared to here, the grocery shopping I could not get over how much cheaper it was over there. 3. If you book a train ticket over there as far in advance as you can it is much cheaper then here. These were only a few that I was sober enough to notice but I m sure there is a lot more. I know there health system is much better then here (would not be hard) Did anyone else notice something similar in other E U countries.:mad:

Zillah

Yeah, we're pretty much a nation of incompetant idiots.

Cabaal

Lets be like the rest of the EU, now want to pay much more tax then your paying right now? Unhappy about the new levys imposed this week....though as much

You can't have ti everyway

keithclancy

margarite wrote: »

Hi I recently spent some time in Germany, and compared to here it is much cheaper to 1. Eat out, 2. Supermarket prices (VAT is much higher here in Ireland) a bottle of vodka is 10 Euro, and as for the beer its a lot cheaper to have a few bottles there as compared to here, the grocery shopping I could not get over how much cheaper it was over there. 3. If you book a train ticket over there as far in advance as you can it is much cheaper then here. These were only a few that I was sober enough to notice but I m sure there is a lot more. I know there health system is much better then here (would not be hard) Did anyone else notice something similar in other E U countries.:mad:

Well its not that simple.
Booze and Fags are about the only thing cheaper in Germany.

The Germans in the Northwest for Example will make long shopping trips over the Dutch border to Venlo and Roermond to buy certain items (coffee for some reason is half the price in the Netherlands)

Petrol is is around 1.62
Diesel is 1.31

Public transport is cheap as a Tourist as you can travel at off peak times, although IMO the Dutch public Transport is better. People coming from Ireland only visit the big cities, if you live in a smaller town/village your knackered, you need a car.

Cars are Cheaper in Ireland and the UK than in Holland or Germany

Also I ran the recent tax changes as of the beginning of Jan for Net income comparison across a few countries.

Personal Information
Country: Ireland
Region:
Filing Status: Single
Total Number of Dependents: 0
Date: 03-Jan-2011

Net Salary Calculation
Currency: Euro
Gross Income: 50,000
National Tax: (9,196)
Regional Tax: 0
Social/Medical Tax: (4,583)
Other Taxes: (1,000)
Net Income: 35,221

Personal Information
Country: Germany
Region:
Filing Status: Single
Total Number of Dependents: 0
Date: 03-Jan-2011

Net Salary Calculation
Currency: Euro
Gross Income: 50,000
National Tax: (10,092)
Regional Tax: 0
Social/Medical Tax: (9,781)
Other Taxes: (555)
Net Income: 29,572

Domestic Tax Calculation Summary
Personal Information
Country: Netherlands
Region:
Filing Status: Single
Total Number of Dependents: 0
Date: 03-Jan-2011

Net Salary Calculation
Currency: Euro
Gross Income: 50,000
National Tax: (9,984)
Regional Tax: 0
Social/Medical Tax: (7,014)
Other Taxes: 0
Net Income: 33,002

Personal Information
Country: Belgium
Region:
Filing Status: Single
Total Number of Dependents: 0
Date: 03-Jan-2011

Net Salary Calculation
Currency: Euro
Gross Income: 50,000
National Tax: (14,402)
Regional Tax: 0
Social/Medical Tax: (6,502)
Other Taxes: (1,482)
Net Income: 27,614

The above is assuming you are single and live in the country you work.

Plus take into account your Health Insurance (Krankenkasse) is mandatory and is between 2500 and 3200 / year, which sometimes your employer might pay half.

In the Netherlands Mandatory health insurance is at a minimum 1100 euros / year.

IMO after living in different countries in the EU, it all works out around the same, i.e. you either get more direct taxation and cheaper goods, or less direct taxation and more expensive goods.

Pkiernan

Although petrol is more expensive, there are hardly any potholes.

Regarding cars:

Cars (used and new) are cheaper than Ireland.
Insurance
Road Motor tax - was €202 on my BMW 330. Here is would be €1500.


I found most other aspects of life to be considerably cheaper than in Ireland with a much higher quality of life.

irelandrover

I live in Holland. I found that I pay more tax than I would at home. I get paid less for the job I do than I would at home.
Beer in pubs is not that much cheaper. €2 euro for a half litre. beer in supermarkets is much cheaper alright.
Rent is more expensive here than it would be at home. the roads are better but I don't drive so that's of no use to me. the public transport is better here. Train journeys can be very cheap in Ireland as well if you book in advance and travel off peak. Dublin to Limerick was €13 last time i was in Ireland.
Food is cheaper as well here. I've found that the cost of living is cheaper here but not by much. To counter that I get paid less and pay more tax.

keithclancy

Pkiernan wrote: »

Although petrol is more expensive, there are hardly any potholes.

Regarding cars:

Cars (used and new) are cheaper than Ireland.
Insurance
Road Motor tax - was €202 on my BMW 330. Here is would be €1500.


I found most other aspects of life to be considerably cheaper than in Ireland with a much higher quality of life.

Its 326 / year for a 2.0 Litre TDI Passat CC here in Germany
In Holland for my 2.0 Liter Diesel Volvo its 344 / quarter.

Insurance is around the same, mine is 526 / year half casco, (tpft) in Ireland it was 680.

Cars are cheaper in Ireland, even moreso that people here drive over to the UK/Ireland to drive them back here. I'd do it myself but its not worth the hassle with the Dutch BPM Tax (Don't have a German address)

Regarding the roads, German roads are sh1t. The Autobahn is concrete, in heavy rain it turns into a joke. Drive around Duesseldorf and your risking your shocks and tooth fillings

Dutch Roads are light years ahead of German roads although the road tax is much higher.

irelandrover wrote: »

I live in Holland. I found that I pay more tax than I would at home. I get paid less for the job I do than I would at home.
Beer in pubs is not that much cheaper. €2 euro for a half litre. beer in supermarkets is much cheaper alright.
Rent is more expensive here than it would be at home. the roads are better but I don't drive so that's of no use to me. the public transport is better here. Train journeys can be very cheap in Ireland as well if you book in advance and travel off peak. Dublin to Limerick was €13 last time i was in Ireland.
Food is cheaper as well here. I've found that the cost of living is cheaper here but not by much. To counter that I get paid less and pay more tax.

Don't you mean 2.20 for a 250ml and 4.00 for a 500ml ?
If not please tell me what bar your going to .... thats savage cheap

Pkiernan

keithclancy wrote: »

Regarding the roads, German roads are sh1t. The Autobahn is concrete, in heavy rain it turns into a joke. Drive around Duesseldorf and your risking your shocks and tooth fillings

Ah, you are talking about northern Germany. We all know that the roads there are damaged by the Dutch Caravanner Squads that arrive en-masse to wreak revenge on Germany every summer.

Comparing Irish roads to any German roads is a different matter - like comparing a minefield to a snooker table from my experience.

keithclancy

Pkiernan wrote: »

Ah, you are talking about northern Germany. We all know that the roads there are damaged by the Dutch Caravanner Squads that arrive en-masse to wreak revenge on Germany every summer.

Comparing Irish roads to any German roads is a different matter - like comparing a minefield to a snooker table from my experience.

Nah man, zee Germans all head for Holland for "a nice holiday"
Thousands of German Caravans make their way to Kijkduin, Zeeland etc because its the closest bit of sea and apparently good caravan parks :P

Ahh in fairness the Irish roads have come on an awful lot, the Motorways/Dual Carriageways (with the exception of some parts of Dublin) are excellent in most places.

My big issue with the Autobahn is the road surface isn't permeable so theres lots of spray when theres any amount of rain.

Ireland would be on par with Belgum IMO, actually, Ireland would be better than Belgium in alot of places.

Totally off topic though

Anyways as I said previously, I still maintain its all swings and roundabouts, works out the same. If people have more net income stuff gets more expensive becuase theres more buying power. I think you'll see prices slowly decrease in Ireland for certain things, however energy (gas/oil) is only going to get more expensive

Irelands actually cheaper than Germany and the Netherlands for Gas and Electricity I believe though.

margarite

Zillah wrote: »

Yeah, we're pretty much a nation of incompetant idiots.

Is that for trusting the people that we voted into Government, I cannot wait for them to come around looking for votes in the next general election, I will not say here what I will say to them, I might be banned again.

crossmolinalad

irelandrover wrote: »

I live in Holland. I found that I pay more tax than I would at home. I get paid less for the job I do than I would at home.
Beer in pubs is not that much cheaper. €2 euro for a half litre. beer in supermarkets is much cheaper alright.
Rent is more expensive here than it would be at home. the roads are better but I don't drive so that's of no use to me. the public transport is better here. Train journeys can be very cheap in Ireland as well if you book in advance and travel off peak. Dublin to Limerick was €13 last time i was in Ireland.
Food is cheaper as well here. I've found that the cost of living is cheaper here but not by much. To counter that I get paid less and pay more tax.

Yeah and they selling irish beef products in the better supermarkets and are cheaper over there then it is here

91011

crossmolinalad wrote: »

Yeah and they selling irish beef products in the better supermarkets and are cheaper over there then it is here

not actually true - if you comapre identical products with identical fat content and identical cuts in similar type stores, you'll find prices here are as good as or better than the continent.

btw - I never buy meat from supermarkets as it is over priced (both here and other countries). A good local butcher will beat any supermarket on price & quality any day of the week.

Marcin_diy

1) foodIreland - take away, restaurant expensive and overpriced. For the money you pay for Mc Donald in Ireland, you can get food in V.good restaurant in Poland.Grocery - about the same, however meat is more expensive here in Ireland. You can find good deals for fruits here - bananas, oranges, mandarines, sometimes are half price of amount you would have to spend in Poland. Strawberries - rip off in Ireland box of 250g - 3 - 4 euro, while in Poland you can get 1kg for 2 euro. Petrol - about the same - 1.25 euro in Poland Doctors, GPs dentists - much cheaper in Poland - Recently i had to go to the dentis - to fix my 1 tooth I'd have to pay 450 euro here - I'm flying to Poland soon for 2 days to get it done for less than 50 + 70 euro for flight. GP - here 50 euro, Poland 12 euro. Clothes - much cheaper here , lot of sales, my mum both shoes for 35 euro here, the same were 85 euro in Poland day after she returned from IE. cosmetics - usually cheaper herepower tools - Was looking for a price of Drill - it was 100 euro here, and the cheapest i could find in PL was 215 euro - special offer here - half price. karcher - 10 euro cheaper here than in Poland. usb cable for Blackberry - 10 euro in IE, 70 cents in PLcar radio connector - IE - 12 euro , 25 cents in PL ( In IE it was manufactured in China, in PL it was from PL) mobiles - cheaper in Ireland new cars - 25 - 30 % cheaper in PLused cars - cheaper in IEcar tax, insurance - much cheaper in PL - why is Ireland so negative to big engines. If somebody wants to drive quick big car must be very very rich. electronics - tvs. laptops, etc - about the same, but you can find better deals in ireland. mobile accessories, pc accessories, car accessories, car parts , other small stuff - much cheaper in PL. House prices - cheaper in Poland for the same quality house with concrete floors, etc - 75% cheaper in PL. for price I paid for my standard 3 bed house in Dublin i could get a willa witha pool in PL. average income in PL - about 850 euro per month. Lowest - 250 euro ( cashiers, cleaners, etc.) So as per my above post - it is not very bad here - you can still find some good deals, and if you can't order it online. Once more people start ordering stuff online, and choose local garage than foreign dealer company who sends profits back to Germany or Asia ptices will change soon.
edit Moderators - none of the icons when i type a post are working. i did lots of pharagraphs, spaces to make my post visible, but it is all gone after i hit submit. Please help

91011

Marcin_diy wrote: »

1) foodIreland - take away, restaurant expensive and overpriced. For the money you pay for Mc Donald in Ireland, you can get food in V.good restaurant in Poland.Grocery - about the same, however meat is more expensive here in Ireland. You can find good deals for fruits here - bananas, oranges, mandarines, sometimes are half price of amount you would have to spend in Poland. Strawberries - rip off in Ireland box of 250g - 3 - 4 euro, while in Poland you can get 1kg for 2 euro. Petrol - about the same - 1.25 euro in Poland Doctors, GPs dentists - much cheaper in Poland - Recently i had to go to the dentis - to fix my 1 tooth I'd have to pay 450 euro here - I'm flying to Poland soon for 2 days to get it done for less than 50 + 70 euro for flight. GP - here 50 euro, Poland 12 euro. Clothes - much cheaper here , lot of sales, my mum both shoes for 35 euro here, the same were 85 euro in Poland day after she returned from IE. cosmetics - usually cheaper herepower tools - Was looking for a price of Drill - it was 100 euro here, and the cheapest i could find in PL was 215 euro - special offer here - half price. karcher - 10 euro cheaper here than in Poland. usb cable for Blackberry - 10 euro in IE, 70 cents in PLcar radio connector - IE - 12 euro , 25 cents in PL ( In IE it was manufactured in China, in PL it was from PL) mobiles - cheaper in Ireland new cars - 25 - 30 % cheaper in PLused cars - cheaper in IEcar tax, insurance - much cheaper in PL - why is Ireland so negative to big engines. If somebody wants to drive quick big car must be very very rich. electronics - tvs. laptops, etc - about the same, but you can find better deals in ireland. mobile accessories, pc accessories, car accessories, car parts , other small stuff - much cheaper in PL. House prices - cheaper in Poland for the same quality house with concrete floors, etc - 75% cheaper in PL. for price I paid for my standard 3 bed house in Dublin i could get a willa witha pool in PL. average income in PL - about 850 euro per month. Lowest - 250 euro ( cashiers, cleaners, etc.) So as per my above post - it is not very bad here - you can still find some good deals, and if you can't order it online. Once more people start ordering stuff online, and choose local garage than foreign dealer company who sends profits back to Germany or Asia ptices will change soon.
edit Moderators - none of the icons when i type a post are working. i did lots of pharagraphs, spaces to make my post visible, but it is all gone after i hit submit. Please help

So basically everything that is labour intensive is cheaper in Poland.

Maybe its because wages are about 60% less over there.?

I do agree, you can get great meals out for under €10 including drinks and hotels can be great value. Its also a great place for holidays if you know where to go - Kaziemirz Dolny being a very beautiful area.

But for the average person, they have to work longer in Poland than in Ireland to pay for the things you mention. Therefore its only cheaper if you're a tourist from a higher wage economy.

uli84

all in all, i believe the Irish prices are very decent in relation to the wages

it is no consolation for those without job though

maringo

Uli 84 if you believe that you believe anything. I lived in the UK some years ago for over 10 years. On my return to Ireland I found:

My car insurance more than doubled (for lesser cover as I had comprehensive in UK) This was with the Irish branch of the same company! Car tax was also much higher.

Had to buy school books for the first time. All these down to even pencils were supplied by the UK schools. After school activities, swimming, chess, etc were provided by the school. Parent/teacher meetings were held AFTER school to suit working parents. On my return to Ireland I was surprised to see primary school teachers finish sharp at 3 pm whereas in the UK they gave time to after-school activities.

Had to pay doctor each visit - this was free in UK. Dentists likewise.
Had to pay for prescription medicines - these were free in UK
People weren't treated like cattle in the hospitals.

At the time I came back to Ireland child allowance per week in the UK was about the same as per month here in Ireland (this may/may not be the case now)

These costs were huge for a family with young children and I can certainly tell you my standard of living dropped dramatically even though I was earning more money here.

Of course, this was before Maggie Thatcher came to power with her right-wing conservative agenda.

Having recently visited a friend in the South of England who unfortunately had psychiatric problems and was admitted to hospital I can assure you the conditions were excellent in the NHS hospital. I thought how lucky she was not to live in this country of ours with its sub-standard services.

I forgot to say that groceries/toys/over counter meds were considerably more expensive here. The only thing I found cheaper here was clothing. All in all it was very difficult to adjust to the excessive prices being charged for virtually everything!

flutered

just back from lanzoroti, steak 8 lids, pint of lager 2 lids, a shot the same, taxi 15 min 2.85, i could go on.

91011

maringo wrote: »

My car insurance more than doubled (for lesser cover as I had comprehensive in UK) This was with the Irish branch of the same company! Car tax was also much higher.

Had to buy school books for the first time. All these down to even pencils were supplied by the UK schools. After school activities, swimming, chess, etc were provided by the school. Parent/teacher meetings were held AFTER school to suit working parents. On my return to Ireland I was surprised to see primary school teachers finish sharp at 3 pm whereas in the UK they gave time to after-school activities.

Had to pay doctor each visit - this was free in UK. Dentists likewise.
Had to pay for prescription medicines - these were free in UK
People weren't treated like cattle in the hospitals.

At the time I came back to Ireland child allowance per week in the UK was about the same as per month here in Ireland (this may/may not be the case now)

These costs were huge for a family with young children and I can certainly tell you my standard of living dropped dramatically even though I was earning more money here.

!

You forget you were paying poll / council tax, water rates & higher paye in the uk. (I lived there from 1990 to 1998) The UK has a very poor education system and whilst a good few years back insurance was much higher here than the UK, its no longer the case as we have finally taught ourselves to drive safer:D

Children's allowance for 2 kids in uk is about €175 per month, here its €280.

davo10

maringo wrote: »

Uli 84 if you believe that you believe anything. I lived in the UK some years ago for over 10 years. On my return to Ireland I found:

My car insurance more than doubled (for lesser cover as I had comprehensive in UK) This was with the Irish branch of the same company! Car tax was also much higher.

Had to buy school books for the first time. All these down to even pencils were supplied by the UK schools. After school activities, swimming, chess, etc were provided by the school. Parent/teacher meetings were held AFTER school to suit working parents. On my return to Ireland I was surprised to see primary school teachers finish sharp at 3 pm whereas in the UK they gave time to after-school activities.

Had to pay doctor each visit - this was free in UK. Dentists likewise.
Had to pay for prescription medicines - these were free in UK
People weren't treated like cattle in the hospitals.

At the time I came back to Ireland child allowance per week in the UK was about the same as per month here in Ireland (this may/may not be the case now)

These costs were huge for a family with young children and I can certainly tell you my standard of living dropped dramatically even though I was earning more money here.

Of course, this was before Maggie Thatcher came to power with her right-wing conservative agenda.

Having recently visited a friend in the South of England who unfortunately had psychiatric problems and was admitted to hospital I can assure you the conditions were excellent in the NHS hospital. I thought how lucky she was not to live in this country of ours with its sub-standard services.

I forgot to say that groceries/toys/over counter meds were considerably more expensive here. The only thing I found cheaper here was clothing. All in all it was very difficult to adjust to the excessive prices being charged for virtually everything!

Thatcher became PM in 1979, so you are comparing the UK and Ireland of 30 years ago. If you had a medical card, up until recently you did not have to pay for medical/dental treatment. There are considerably more insurance companies in the UK so greater competition, due to smaller market and I suspect higher settlements here, the english insurance companies are not interested in Ireland. The Irish education system has a better reputation but I cannot provide tangiable evidence of this, I think Irish people might just prefer to have their children educated here. Wages were higher here, we have a higher minimum wage, lower taxes, as said no poll tax etc.

maringo

Yes I did pay house rates and water rates when living in England. The local council funded a community leisure centre complete with swimming pool/sauna and also excellent public parks and outdoor pools among other things. Bin collections were done and streets cleaned. Roads were not potholed as they are in many areas here causing damage to ball joints and tyres.

Its a sweeping generalisation to say the education system is better here in Ireland. I am not purporting to say that living in the UK was utopia. But I never had to decide between putting food on the table or taking a sick child to a doctor which many parents here are having to do. If they go to A&E they have to fork out too. I am aware of the limits for a medical card and a family with 2 working parents will seldom qualify.

davo10

maringo wrote: »

Yes I did pay house rates and water rates when living in England. The local council funded a community leisure centre complete with swimming pool/sauna and also excellent public parks and outdoor pools among other things. Bin collections were done and streets cleaned. Roads were not potholed as they are in many areas here causing damage to ball joints and tyres.

Its a sweeping generalisation to say the education system is better here in Ireland. I am not purporting to say that living in the UK was utopia. But I never had to decide between putting food on the table or taking a sick child to a doctor which many parents here are having to do. If they go to A&E they have to fork out too. I am aware of the limits for a medical card and a family with 2 working parents will seldom qualify.

Maringo, do you think there is any chance that there are people living in the UK who are also in the same predicament?, the grass is always greener elsewhere. If you lived in the Uk all these years, you and your spouse would probably have had lower wages/lower benefits so it all swings and roundabouts. The ideal would be living in a high income economy but shopping/accessing services in a low income economy, kinda what we had here in the good times and shopping in the North.

91011

maringo wrote: »

Yes I did pay house rates and water rates when living in England. The local council funded a community leisure centre complete with swimming pool/sauna and also excellent public parks and outdoor pools among other things. Bin collections were done and streets cleaned. Roads were not potholed as they are in many areas here causing damage to ball joints and tyres.

Its a sweeping generalisation to say the education system is better here in Ireland.

Current rates in UK for an average 4 bed family home valued at £250k are about £2500 (non tax deductable) water rates are about £330

If you're unemployed in the UK you would not have money to put food on the table - in fact they give so little you barely have your dignity. At least here, you have enough for the basics and maybe even a pint at the end of the week.

UK has plenty of pot holes on secondary roads - certainly around Ipswich & woodbridge area a few months ago!:D - But after recent weather, many roads both here & uk will have many potholes.

Education in UK is dreadful - and acknowledged by the current conservative governments as one of the weak spots - unless you have money for private school (about £6k a year) or university (up to £9k a year)


So here's an example
UK
Good earner, family 2 kids, gross salary £65,000 (€78.000)
After tax = £44660
Deduct council tax + water rates - Net = £41860 (€50,200)

Assume exact same salary here - even though we all know salaries are about 20% higher, but assume precise same salary

€78,000
after tax - €57,461
Bin charges ( after tax deductable) - €300
Net = €57161


Now spend the €7,000 on top end VHI which included doctor visits (about 4k) + annual leisure club membership for family (€1200) and you still have almost €2k to take a holiday.

What this simply shows there are so many variables bertween different countries you simply cannot say because a bunch of carrots ismore expensive in one store in one country that suddenly this are crap.

As I've said, I've lived in UK (and Paris & Boston) and still I feel life is far far better here. (Guinness is better too:D)