Dear ol’ Dublin – not so dear any more

DUBLIN has plunged nine places in the global cost of living survey but it is the most expensive place in the world for fast food.

The capital is now the 25th most expensive city in the world, according to a survey by consultants Mercer Human Resources.

The firm measured the cost of more than 200 items, ranging from the price of renting a flat to buying a newspaper in 143 cities.

A hamburger meal at a medium-priced establishment costs €6.55 in Dublin compared with €4.28 in New York.

Dublin is the eighth most expensive city in the world for commuters with the average daily commute costing almost €1.50 compared with €3.10 in London – the world’s most expensive.

Dublin ranks below Paris (13), London (16) and Rome (18) and above Amsterdam (29), Madrid (37) and Barcelona (joint 38) in the overall survey.

The decline of rental and food prices in Dublin along with the fall in the value of the euro against the dollar, has caused Ireland’s capital to drop down the rankings.

Other European cities also experienced steep falls, with Warsaw plummeting from 35th to 113th spot and Glasgow falling to 129th from 60th.

Mercer senior consultant, Noel O’Connor said: “As a direct impact of the economic downturn over the last year many currencies, including the euro and British pound, have weakened considerably against a strong US dollar causing a number of European cities to plummet in the rankings.”

Tokyo has knocked Moscow off the top spot to become the world’s most expensive city, with the cost of living up more than 13% from 2008.

Osaka is in second position, up nine places since last year, followed by Moscow in third place.

Geneva climbed to fourth position and Hong Kong moved up to fifth. Johannesburg in South Africa is the least expensive city in the ranking.

London, which was previously in the top 10, dropped to 16th place as a result of declining rental prices and the fall in the value of sterling.