Dear old Ireland

THE Eurostat survey that confirms that Irish alcohol and tobacco prices are the highest in the European Union will not surprise bon vivants still capable of indulging in both.

The high price of tobacco is a consequence of a well-founded health policy and though it may not have greatly reduced the number of people who smoke, the high cost may prevent young people taking up the destructive habit.

The case around drink is less clear-cut, and though it would be unwise to in any way underestimate the damage caused by drink abuse in this society, it would be foolish not to accept that we suffer by comparison when foreign visitors try to buy wine in an Irish restaurant. This has a far greater negative impact on visitors’ decision to return to Ireland than we might imagine.

Overall, Ireland is the fifth-most expensive country in the EU for consumer goods and services, behind Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and the UK. This statistic highlights a culture that the troika wished to see changed, but that it has not is an indication of how entrenched powerful interests are.