Ireland is EU's most expensive state

IRELAND is the most expensive of the EU's 25 states and that's official.

We pay more for food, alcohol and tobacco than any of our fellow EU citizens.

In a worrying development for the tourism industry, an annual EU survey reveals the cost of eating, drinking and smoking in Ireland is 44% above the average. A 2003 survey of prices, including the 10 accession states, found a basket of food, beverages and cigarettes in Ireland costs about 2.6 times more than in Poland the cheapest country in the EU where prices for the same products are just 55% of the EU average.