Ireland has the second-highest prices for a range of services and goods in the EU, new data shows, writes Sarah Slater.

Prices are officially 38% above the EU average, and this country is second only to Denmark.

Over the past ten years, prices have risen from 28% above the EU average to the current level.

When it comes to alcohol and tobacco, prices here are the highest in the bloc at a staggering 205% of the EU average, though a lot of this is due to taxation, and, more recently, minimum unit pricing on alcohol.

For alcohol alone, prices are the second highest in the EU, after Finland, at almost 198% of the EU average.

Food and non-alcoholic drink prices in Ireland are the third highest in the EU, behind Luxembourg and Denmark, at almost 15% above average.

However, believe it or not, this is an improvement on recent years, as prices were over 21% above average in 2020.

Restaurant and hotel prices are the second highest, behind only Denmark, at 29% above average.

Communications costs are almost 40% above average, and Ireland is also the third most expensive country for electricity, gas and fuel, with prices being 17% above average.

In better news, clothing prices are actually 1% below the EU average and cheaper than in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.

Non-EU countries, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland were also included in the research and generally have prices higher than Ireland.

Daragh Cassidy of price comparison site Bonkers.ie said the reasons why prices here are "so high" include higher wages, a lack of competition in certain sectors, high taxation on certain goods, and lower government subsidies in certain areas such as public transport and childcare.

“Businesses are also faced with high insurance and energy costs, which then get passed on to consumers,” he continued.

“Ireland will never be a cheap place to live.

"And it’s worth noting that many of the world’s most expensive countries, such as Switzerland, Iceland and Denmark, also have some of the highest standards of living in the world.

“The problem is that wages in Ireland, while high by international standards, generally don’t match the salaries in these countries.”

The pricing expert added that the Government should look at our 23% standard rate of VAT, which “is among the highest in the world”.

He added: “Repeated failures to properly tackle our compo culture mean many businesses continue to pay astronomical insurance costs, which leads to higher prices for consumers.”