Budget must tackle social imbalance

People living in this country need hardly be reminded that Ireland, along with Finland, is the most expensive in the eurozone for consumer goods and services.

That dubious status was confirmed by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC), a body established by the Government six years ago, in its report published yesterday. No doubt Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy will consider the urgings of the NCC, relating to a broad spectrum of the economy, when he delivers his Budget tomorrow.

Apart from jointly leading the euro field for expensive goods and services, the NCC pointed out that the country is also the fourth most expensive for insurance premiums and the third-dearest for landfill and industrial electricity costs. Again, nothing new there but the point being made by the NCC was that it is essential for the Government to bring down inflation by avoiding increases in excise duties, VAT and publicly administered prices in the Budget.