High wages give rise to Rip-off Ireland

IT is wrong to blame producers and service providers solely for the “Rip-off Ireland” tag this economy has rightly earned in recent years.

A key reason why we pay so much for what we buy in shop or are served up in restaurants is due to the high wages we pay ourselves.

While the term may be justified, economist Shane Garrett of the Economic and social Research Institute says the long and the short of it is that we pay ourselves too well and the cost has to be recouped by service and product providers.