Ireland to become the most expensive country in the eurozone

The Corinthian

http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/0522/eurozone.html

Ireland is likely to become the most expensive country in the eurozone this year, according to a report from the state policy advisory board, Forfás.

Hardly a surprise.

However, to simply blame apparent monopolies and simple consumer exploitation would be simplistic. An issue that has to be addressed is consumer apathy, where we are likely not to even know the price of the items we buy, let alone allow prices to influence our buying habits, inviting this exploitation in the first place.

Mr E

My buying habits have changed considerably over the last year. I buy all games, hardware, DVDs and (most) CDs online.

Its almost automatic now. Instead of saying "Oh, that DVD is out this weekend.. I'll pop into town on Saturday to get it", it has become more like "Lets see if play.com have it in stock".

Something will have to be done, or little old Ireland is going to lose its appeal to investors.

- Dave.

bugler

I hope I like London...so I won't have to come back..

Humphrey

I too have become alot more price aware over the last while. I would rather pay the shipping fee for goods from UK rather than pay the rip off prices here.


Also I find it cheaper to go on holidays abroad rather than going 'Down the Country'.

Humphrey.

Victor

"Increases in Government related charges account for around 2% of the present 4.3% inflation rate. " - of course they say nothing about the 40% increase in the TV Licence fee.

Sar!

exactly!!!Totally ridiculous........and the fact that Eircom who we love so much are let run a monopoly and keep price hiking too !!!!! Personally I blame Bertie - whatever about Charlie McCreevy - Bertie has the ultimate say and it seems at the moment the only thing he cares about is his precious free guinness in the Dail!!!!

ednwireland

yep you got it THE Government is responsible for a lot of this inflation but mary harney reckons allowing bigger shops will fix everything- how screwed up is that
this gov. is so out of touch with reality its unbeleivable - i buy books and computer equipment online and most stuff is soooo much cheaper in the uk where there is real competition and possibly a big enough market to support that competition, so if ireland hasn't the critical mass for real competition all that happens is that virtual monopolies milk ireland dry so the gov has to get up off its fat arse and do something about it
oh sorry i forgot all this gov. beleives in is say anything do nothing policies allegedly all you have to do is say something and it will magically happen.

Sar!

I got it!!! Its a kind of matrix theory - youre dead right!! The Govt. are all sitting in their enclosed little world oblivious to what is actually going on in the country!!! Take the Tzar of Transport for example - the man cycles a bike to work - A ruddy bike I ask you!!! If I cycled a bike to work it would take me 3 flippin hours to get there!!!! He thinks the solution to our transport problems are to make everyone so miserable in their cars on the road and on public transport that theyll actually cycle everywhere instead?????!!!! Eh hallo!!!! Maybe if he actually drove in proper traffic everyday he would have a better understanding of the way this country is and actually attempt to solve the problem instead of making it worse!!!!! To summarise isnt it about time the Govt started WORKING for a living instead of swaning about in their luxurious offices getting pay rises for doing sweet nothing!!!!

Dr. Dre

Good article in the Irish Times today (Friday), page 12.

Sar!

Youre absolutely right!! Lets hope Bertie had a read hey!! Conjured up all the reminders of just how much it has cost this year alone to live in this country!! The best one yet being a cocktail in the Morrison for €14!!!!! Beat that!

smiles

Originally posted by The Corinthian
However, to simply blame apparent monopolies and simple consumer exploitation would be simplistic. An issue that has to be addressed is consumer apathy, where we are likely not to even know the price of the items we buy, let alone allow prices to influence our buying habits, inviting this exploitation in the first place.

That's one factor definitely, but other factors like wage demands, etc. surely have a huge influence as well?

Personally I think we're experiencing the fallout following the death of the celtic tiger, at the time prices were running high and unemployment was low pushing prices higher and when the growth rates fell away we were left with the high prices, cauing people to demand higher wages, pushing up costs, feeding into wages again.

THE Government is responsible for a lot of this inflation

It's so _simple_ to say "oh yeah, it's the governments fault", to be honest from the way you're talking about it you'd swear that the government _wants_ inflation, which is utterly ridiculuous.

Eircom who we love so much are let run a monopoly and keep price hiking too

Actually it was this government that started the break up or Eircom's monopoly, to just abolish it in one movement would only cause the service to be completely discontinued for an awful lot of people, privatisation is a long process and takes time. Eircom is not being "let run" a monopoly.

how screwed up is that
this gov. is so out of touch with reality its unbeleivable - i buy books and computer equipment online and most stuff is soooo much cheaper in the uk where there is real competition and possibly a big enough market to support that competition, so if ireland hasn't the critical mass for real competition all that happens is that virtual monopolies milk ireland dry so the gov has to get up off its fat arse and do something about it

Right, how do you suggest the government increase Ireland's "critical mass" (rofl), perhaps we should have a family conscription? Where women have to be pregnant for 8 of every 10 years in order to make the "critical mass" needed for the country to support competition in your eyes?

Actually the government should have nothing to do with book and computer equipment, where are no particular monopolies when it comes to these and the government is actively encouraging more companies to set up and to help with this.

I got it!!! Its a kind of matrix theory - youre dead right!! The Govt. are all sitting in their enclosed little world oblivious to what is actually going on in the country!!! Take the Tzar of Transport for example - the man cycles a bike to work - A ruddy bike I ask you!!! If I cycled a bike to work it would take me 3 flippin hours to get there!!!! He thinks the solution to our transport problems are to make everyone so miserable in their cars on the road and on public transport that theyll actually cycle everywhere instead?????!!!! Eh hallo!!!! Maybe if he actually drove in proper traffic everyday he would have a better understanding of the way this country is and actually attempt to solve the problem instead of making it worse!!!!! To summarise isnt it about time the Govt started WORKING for a living instead of swaning about in their luxurious offices getting pay rises for doing sweet nothing!!!!

Right... the matrix... erm, yes!

Your logic in that paragraph is actually wonderful, I've never read something that made me laugh so much.

Put it this way, the minister for transport cycles to work, excellent, he's setting a good example, fair enough everyone can't do that, but at least he's encouraging those who can to do it.... and yet you want him to get _another_ car out onto the road and cause even more traffic so he can _understand_ the traffic.... right, I don't actually think any explanation of the utter stupidity of that idea is needed.

<< Fio >>

The Corinthian

Originally posted by smiles
That's one factor definitely, but other factors like wage demands, etc. surely have a huge influence as well?

Absolutely; I was just highlighting one area, that of demand inelasticity as a contributing factor - simply because it is one the people most often prefer to ignore in favour of blaming someone else.

Personally I think we're experiencing the fallout following the death of the celtic tiger, at the time prices were running high and unemployment was low pushing prices higher and when the growth rates fell away we were left with the high prices, cauing people to demand higher wages, pushing up costs, feeding into wages again.

More correctly the fallout following the Celtic Tiger as opposed to its death. The majority of wage increases took place during that period. If anything the end of the Celtic Tiger may have contributed towards a slowing down of inflation given that disposable income has decreased, although I’d admit that this analysis is open to interpretation.

smiles

Originally posted by The Corinthian
More correctly the fallout following the Celtic Tiger as opposed to its death. The majority of wage increases took place during that period. If anything the end of the Celtic Tiger may have contributed towards a slowing down of inflation given that disposable income has decreased, although I’d admit that this analysis is open to interpretation.

Yes, actually fallout was the word I was looking for earlier, but it wouldnt come to me.

The point I think I was trying to make was that I adhere to the idea that the end of the Celtic Tiger meant that growth fell, and yet people's puchasing habits (demand persay) didn't actually change that much and this is what the problem is, the producers don't have to cut prices because, in general, the consumer in the irish economy is a sucker for punishment and is happy just to accept high prices instead of shopping around.

<< Fio >>

mike65

Inflation is falling (a bit) but only because of the rise in the value of the Euro against the dollar and Sterling, plus oil prices have softened since the war in Iraq. Home made inflation is rampant in the services and government controlled sectors, while factory gate prices are falling so business is getting squeezed while we the consumers continue to pay more.

People are apathetic but getting angry, just the sort of environment that quick-witted retailers could exploit but dont as they are as lazy as we are. Some are trying (allbeit while establishing themselves in the market) like Aldi and Lidl. We need more cut price/discount/warehouse type retailing in the country. RG Data and the traditional Supermarkets can complain as much as they like but there is a market just begging to be exploited.

We also need to see government end closed shops and cartels in the proffesions, but thats something that they seem more keep to talk about than do anything practical.

Mike.

KTS

Ireland really is a farce at the moment we the people pay over the top for everything which is totally sub standard and nothing is ever done about it. I mean for one thing housing is a joke how can anyone here who is planning to buy a house in lets say 5 years hope to get on the property ladder at all its just laughable when you think about it.

The government is really to blame they sit in their cosy offices doing feck all except bitching about each other and not movng this country forward at all. I mean the government is lending its hand at fixing everything else all over the place like the north when it can't even fix the fecking country we live in. The roads are crap the telecommunications structure is a monoply, the trains are old cattle transporters, the government is full of crooks who piss away the days doing feck all and just shouting there mouths out, the streets are unsafe, the gardai are worthless and seem to do nothing in my opinion.

I mean the list is endless and it will only get worse, from talking to friends of mine it seems a lot of them are just thinking of going to another country and starting a better life even though they love ireland the way it is just can't keep going on or else it will just simply implode and we will be worse off than some thrid world countries.

THIS IS RIP-OFF NATION

The most i paid for a drink was €25 in the Morrison and even then the bar manager came after me and said it was €27.50, i couldn't believe it i mean i just spent a small fortune on a dinner and still they wanted more.

This country is a shambles!

ednwireland

no you don't get the point if the government set a target of say 2% inflation then the policies they implemented support this approach whislt what we have at the moment esp. from c mcreevy is a shotgun approach which doesn't seem to take into account the knock on effect of all these increases, a quote this weekend says the gov is commited to keeping inflation as low as possible - what the f**k does that mean is 10% acceptable if mcreevy decides to whack up everything in sight ?
also in the last budget in the inetrview someone asked mcreevy what his overall strategy was and he said i just took abit from everywhere now to me that smacks of NO POLICY and that bit seriously dissappoints me espeially when you see what these guys earn

Tazz T

I just got back from Greece this weekend - another place where inflation is running at high levels. Not a day goes by where there isn't another protest or article on TV or newspaper about the situation. People are making a stand where people are just apathetic here.

I think it's really down to a lack of competition. Not just as far as telecoms are concerned but in every industry. Competition isn't encouraged. Prices have risen dramtically in Greece but everything is still far cheaper than it is here.

Examples from islands I visited last week:

Cheap hotel €20 Expensive hotel €50
500ml bottle of beer in bar restaurant avg €1.5 - €2,5 although can be found for almost as much (shock) as Irish pubs in nightclubs.
Litre of wine in restaurant €4
Average 3 course meal for two including drinks €20 - €25
Public transport and taxis were also shockingly cheap.

You really see the difference when it's in euros

RainyDay

The most i paid for a drink was €25 in the Morrison and even then the bar manager came after me and said it was €27.50,

Don't blame the Govt - It's your own fault if you're going to pay out silly money like this - As long as you keep paying, you can be damn sure that they'll keep charging.

McGinty

I would have to agree that most people here in Ireland are apathatic towards rising prices here. We moan to each other about the prices of drinks/food/rent/buying a house/services/etc but we don't really take any action.

I have realised I am guilty of this in some ways, for example I pay the exhorbitant prices in pubs for a drink, but I do shop around when it comes to food, services (eg: hairdressers, etc) and if I had the money to buy a house (I don't at the moment) I wouldn't pay the current prices, they are way to high.

ednwireland

sorry to thro my oar in again i suppose i'm lucky living on the border
but i do shop around and i am thwarted by things like the cost of moving to another bank or credit card is not worth it when i take into account the cost of replacing all my cards (luckily i don't want to do this but my partner did and the cost of the cards negated the cost of the charges she would pay with aib) so an instant example of the gov. directly reducing competition the gov allowed price increases across the board since the last election instead of telling these companies to do what everyone else has to do become more competitive.

anothe example t shirt in pennys in sligo €8 in derry €5 is the cost of running a business between northern and southern ireland THAT different or do the retailers just think the suckers down here will keep paying it

i've seen IT consultancy rates plummet as more people are laid off and try to make a few quid - the question is how do business and state monopolies compete

i shop in lidl for everything i can, actually i just smashed the screen on the mobile so shopping around i just found a replacement in the uk for €28 including shipping (luckily its not that difficult to fit) - thats shopping around

TD's who tell me irish poeple are to blame for price rises by not shopping around really annoy me