THE REPUBLIC has the most expensive alcohol prices in the EU and are also the second most expensive country for tobacco, according to a Eurostat report.
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, carried out a survey of the prices of food, beverage and tobacco prices in 2015 across 38 participating countries, covering around 440 comparable products.
The price of alcohol in the Republic was shown to be 75 per cent above the EU average. It was followed by Finland (72 per cent above average) and the UK (63 per cent above average).
The cheapest EU member country to buy alcohol is Bulgaria (64 per cent of the EU average), followed by Romania (72 per cent) and Hungary (74 per cent).
Tobacco prices in the UK were seen to be more than double the EU average at 118 per cent above average. The Republic was the second most expensive country for tobacco (89 per cent above average) followed by France (27 per cent).
The cheapest country for tobacco is Bulgaria (50 per cent of the EU average), followed jointly by Croatia and Lithuania (59 per cent).
The Republic was shown to have some of the most expensive prices for food and drink in the EU, ranking above average in every category.
Meat was shown to be six per cent more expensive in the Republic than the EU average, bread and cereals cost 11 per cent more than average and milk, cheese and eggs were 28 per cent more expensive than the EU average.
Overall the report showed that Denmark was the most expensive EU country for food and non-alcoholic beverages, with prices 45 per cent higher than the EU average.
Sweden were second most expensive with prices 24 per cent above the average, followed by Austria (20 per cent above average) the Republic and Finland (both 19 per cent) and Luxembourg (16 per cent).
The cheapest EU country for food and non-alcoholic beverages was Poland, with prices at 63 per cent of the EU average. Romania was second (64 per cent), followed by Bulgaria (70 per cent), Lithuania (78 per cent) , and the Czech Republic and Hungary (79 per cent).
