Taxpayers may have got off lightly in yesterday's Budget but when they go to spend their hard-earned cash, they will find it doesn't go nearly as far as it once did.
Already reeling from a steady series of price rises in recent months, hard-pressed consumers are set to pay even more for a whole range of goods and services.
The Budget contained a raft of small measures which may not mean a lot individually but taken together will ensure that the average consumer is significantly worse off.
Mr McCreevy is hoping to raise €535 million from increases in indirect taxes alone, the bulk of which will come from the pockets of the ordinary consumer.
Add to that the €52 million he expects to raise from stamp duty changes that will directly affect anyone with a bank card and consumers will be contributing close to an extra €600 million to the State's coffers each year.
"It's going to cost consumers more money," Mr Dermot Jewell, chief executive of the Consumers' Association of Ireland (CAI), said. "When you start to put all the little pieces together, there is a sizable amount coming out of the consumers' pocket."
The increase in the lower rate of VAT to 13.5 per cent from 12.5 per cent, which will take effect from January 1st, will have the most wide-ranging impact on consumers. It will have a knock-on effect on a whole host of areas, from the cost of holiday accommodation to the price of a takeout curry. Taking your pet to the vet, a trip to the florist, learning to drive, even dropping into the corner shop for the daily newspaper will all cost slightly more as result of this measure.
Going out, already an expensive pastime, will become even dearer. Cinema tickets, art gallery and exhibition fees will be affected. And after you've shelled out even more than usual to gain entry to your favourite nightclub, the effects of higher excise duty will kick in. The "alcopops" on offer will cost 35 cent more per bottle while shot drinkers will pay 20 cent more per measure.
Smokers, always in the firing line, haven't escaped, although their worst fears may not have been realised. Still, they will find themselves with very little change out of €6 for a packet of 20.
The cost of petrol may have been left alone but not all motorists will emerge unscathed. Diesel drivers will suffer as the cost of the fuel goes up by three cent per litre from today. Meanwhile, anyone buying a 2-litre car will pay 5 per cent more for the privilege.
But it's not just luxury items that will be affected. Electricity and other home fuels, such as peat and coal, are taxed at the lower VAT rate.
Householders already bracing for a 13 per cent rise in the cost of electricity from next year can now add another 1 per cent to their home heating bills.
And the VAT rise represents more bad news for beleaguered young house-buyers, already struggling with the abolition of the first-time buyers' grant. In addition to making up the €3,800 grant shortfall, those buying new homes costing an average €200,000 will have to find nearly €1,800 extra to meet the larger VAT bill.
Even the cost of accessing the funds to pay your way in an increasingly expensive Ireland is set to rise. Mr McCreevy has raised the stamp duty on ATM cards from €6.25 to €10 per annum and is whacking stamp duty of €10 on laser cards.
Those who bought into the idea of the cashless society may be prompted to think again when they see their credit card charges, which will rise from €19 to €40, a whopping increase of 110 per cent. Switching to cheques is no solution with each cheque set to cost 15 cent, compared to 8 cent previously.
As if it wasn't all bad enough, the CAI is worried that the €100 million a year levy on financial institutions could end up hitting consumers down the line. "Every attempt is going to be made to pass that on to the consumer," Mr Jewell said.
