Irish consumers paying 40% above EU average prices for household goods
Much Drinks Accounts Of Taxes For On Disparity
The high price Irish people pay for alcohol, tobacco, hotels and restaurants places us at the top of the EU table for consumer prices.
Last year, the highest price levels were recorded in Denmark, at 143% of the EU average, followed by Ireland (142%) and Luxembourg (135%).
According to Eurostat, the lowest levels were registered in Bulgaria and Romania (each 60%) and Poland (66%).
The figures for price levels for household consumption highlight the differences consumers pay in different markets.
The widest gap in prices was for alcohol and tobacco which are 3.2 times higher in Ireland, the most expensive country, than in Bulgaria, the least expensive.
The Irish government places significant excise duties on such products collecting over €1.3bn in excise on alcohol last year and €167m in tobacco excise that was paid directly to the Department of Health.
The lowest price levels for alcohol and tobacco were recorded in Bulgaria (66% of the EU average), Poland (77%) and Romania (85%).
Eurostat acknowledged that the large price variation is mainly due to differences in taxation of these products.
Restaurants and hotels ranked second in terms of price level difference, with the lowest price levels registered in Bulgaria (52% of the EU average), Romania (65%) and Hungary (72%); and the highest in Denmark (152%), Finland (129%) and Ireland (128%).
Clothing ranked third in the EU in terms of price level variation, with Spain (81%), Bulgaria (82%) and Hungary (88%) registering the cheapest clothing prices, while the most expensive were in Denmark (131%), Czechia (126%) and Estonia (118%).
In this category Ireland came in under the average at 96%.
Disparities were also recorded for food and non-alcoholic beverages (varying from 74% of the EU average in Romania to 119% in Luxembourg); personal transport equipment (varying from 90% in Slovakia to 129% in Denmark); and consumer electronics (varying from 92% in Italy to 113% in France).
The data is based on the results of a price survey covering over 2,000 consumer goods and services in the EU.
EuroStat said that between 2013 and last year the level of price difference between various countries across the continent has dropped pointing to increased price convergence over time for household consumer goods.