OPINION: Ireland's cost of living is very hard to swallow

DEAR Consumer, I know that it comes as no surprise to you that the leaked Forfas report deduces that, when it comes to living costs, we are the second highest in the euro zone.

But try to act surprised so that those who have been living in the twilight zone are not too upset at this bite of reality!

As you will know, it certainly came as no shock to us here at the Consumers' Association of Ireland.

We had been talking about it, complaining about it and even naming names about it. We spoke with you and we carried out and produced surveys highlighting real examples of the ridiculous price increases to which you have all been subjected.

But, regrettably, Government was "not convinced" and the providers of our goods and services cried bitterly and loudly at our unfair taunts and accusations.

What or who brought us to this situation? A critical point highlighted in the report is that in 1999 we reached the second highest position on this league table.

Many consumers have been struggling since then to balance the household budget and have now reached the point where it is really becoming a problem.

Many are living beyond their means - and in an attempt to cope some have had to resort to borrowing and are in unmanageable situations of debt.

That is a terrible reality and one we must all seriously consider.

Of course, we live in a market economy which should provide us with the benefits of competition and which is geared for pricing structures to focus within what that market will bear.

Regrettably, many suppliers of our goods and services appear to have forgotten that there is a limit to what is bearable.

It appears to have been ignored most by publicans, doctors, dentists, restaurateurs, hairdressers and many other service providers who have introduced double-digit increases to already high prices.

Have we competition? Competition is where suppliers, sellers or service providers decide they want a greater share of the market and reduce prices and improve services to attract you, the consumer. It's not there is it?

It is certainly not there when we see price gaps across Europe yet find prices mirroring each other in our supermarkets.

That was what the CAI's nationwide supermarket price surveys, carried out on behalf of the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs, revealed in 2000.

Two years later that is still the case. Little has changed except that our prices have continued to increase and Irish consumers are now paying more for similar products while our EU counterparts enjoy real competition, choice, value for money and a respect for their custom.

Competition, real competition, is missing and is conspicuous by its absence.

Perspective is important at this juncture. Of course prices will increase - everyone has to earn a living.

Claims of profiteering can easily be made but should not be without foundation.

FOR many consumers that foundation is the lack of affordability of goods and services which they could previously purchase but which now, suddenly, are outside their budget.

What is worse is that these, to many, are essential services with little choice of provider and/or no possibility or opportunity for price comparison.

Had it not been for the changeover to the euro we would not have had the many comparative surveys that we have had in recent months indicating our costly position in the euro zone.

This Forfas report, it is suggested, will be telling us that we have been at this level since 1999 and that we continue to be there. This is important - we continue to be there.

While we knew that prices were high we did not realise they had risen to such a level.

We have always coped. We have had to accept a cost of living that is expensive and, for many, beyond our means. So, as a solution, we have cut down, cut back, borrowed and, with typical Irish deter- mination, tried to live within the confines set for us.

Arguably, that is one of the problems at the core of this whole situation. Perhaps we should have complained bitterly rather than go on trying to adjust our budgets to accommodate prices which were too high.

We should have shouted our demands and told all and sundry that this was just not good enough!

Which brings me directly back to my opening point. We did complain and we did shout and, as usual, we were told that it was either a figment of our imagination or else that we should simply take our business elsewhere.

The circle - otherwise referred to as the run-around - is complete.

So, where do we go from here and what can we do?

Consumers have done enough. It's time for others to step up and take action on their behalf.

The release of this Forfas survey and the results it contains are eagerly awaited because, being the definitive assessment of the reality of our situation, it will set the pace for discussions with all of the parties it concerns.

The pace and the action will need to be swift. The consumers of Ireland have put up with this for long enough and now look to Government to support them with actions bringing lasting affordability and competitive choice.

It will not be easy, but then, you already know that!

Yours sincerely,

Dermott Jewell, Chief Executive Consumers' Association of Ireland

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