The true extent of rip-off Ireland has been laid bare - as it emerged Irish shoppers are paying the second highest prices for food and booze in the Eurozone.
Food prices in supermarkets here are almost a fifth more than the average being paid in the other 19 countries in Europe that use the euro, the Eurozone, while the shocking price paid by us for alcohol is twice the European average.
Irish shoppers are paying more for virtually everything in their basket with fish the only exception - at a measly 3 per cent lower than the EU average.
READ MORE: CSO statistics show Irish grocery list items expected to add hundreds to annual spend
Even if you’re a non-drinker you’re getting hit for more because non-alcoholic beverages are 37% dearer in Ireland, the joint dearest in Europe.
And smokers are being hammered too, with the Government’s public health pricing policy seeing cigarette smokers paying 145% more for tobacco products than the average European.
The rip-off Republic prices have led Labour finance spokesman, Ged Nash, to call on the consumer protection regulator to step in to investigate.
Mr Nash said that “something doesn’t stack up” because many of the foods that are more expensive in the price comparisons, like eggs and milk, are mass-produced in Ireland.
The latest signs of the soaring cost of living are laid bare in new research from the CSO (Central Statistics Office) here, working with their counterparts in Eurostat.
The researchers collected info from 36 European countries, including the 27 in the EU, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland and another six countries that have applied to get into the EU.
The CSO’s findings reveal that food prices in Ireland were 17% above the EU average, making them the second most expensive in the Eurozone, and third most expensive in the EU.
Prices for all types of foods in Ireland were higher than the EU average, except for fish which was 3% lower.
Irish prices for milk, cheese and eggs were 25% higher than the EU average; while oils and fats were 22% higher, and breads and cereals were 20% higher.
Ireland was the second most expensive country in both the Eurozone and EU for booze, with prices of alcohol in Ireland just over double the EU average.
Mr Nash told the Irish Mirror that the State’s consumer watchdogs need to act.
He said: “Something doesn’t stack up here.
“We mass produce eggs, milk and cheese, but by the time it hits the shelves shoppers are lashing out 25% more than the EU average for these basic staples.
“This doesn’t make sense and the consumer protection regulator needs to take a closer look at this.
“We know that everything is going up, but this needs explaining.
“Not everything can be explained away by blaming rising inflation and additional fuel and transport costs.
“We have to be vigilant and ensure price gouging doesn’t become a feature of our economy.
“If it does, the least well-off will be hit the hardest.”
The CSO’s findings are based on returns from all countries to the end of 2021.
This means that with inflation soaring even higher again at close to 8% since then, that the cost of food and booze has inevitably gone even higher again in 2022.
READ NEXT :
Former garda jailed for sickening 'alcohol-fuelled' assaults on women
Rat infestation found at child detention centre housing Ana Kriegel's killers
Hopes of justice for Michaela McAreavey dashed as linked case thrown out
Reality star Paddy Doherty says Joe Joyce 'did not intend to kill anyone'
Met Éireann predict surge in temperatures to arrive in early July forecast
