Big Euro Price Rip-Off in Ireland

As reported on the front-page of the Irish Independent of 17 January, a nation-wide prices survey has revealed that 'Consumers are being ripped off in the changeover to the euro.' The survey was carried out in a number of towns around the country during the first ten to twelve days of the new currency. The CAI (Consumer Association of Ireland) is quoted as saying that "Prices have increased for a wide range of goods and services since January 1. [...] In some cases prices have shot up by as much as 10 percent, though the general level of increase is less than that. The biggest culprits are pubs, restaurants and doctors."

'CAI Chairman Michael Kilcoyne said the survey found "clear enough evidence" of widespread price increases. [...] He said the problem was not the result of traders rounding up the price when converting from pounds to euro. [...] They increased their prices first and then converted the higher price to euro, and some increases have been "substantial".