The insurance industry, in which the highest percentage price increases occurred during the euro changeover period, insisted yesterday its price increases from September 2001 to March 2002 had nothing to do with the change of currency.
The Irish Insurance Federation's spokesman, Mr Martin Long, said its members had signed up to and abided by the voluntary euro code which was policed by the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs.
But the Forfás report found insurance costs - both home and motor insurance - went up by 8.4 per cent during the changeover.
Mr Long said prices had increased, but for reasons other than the changeover. The motor insurance market had been making a net operating loss in Ireland since 1999, and in 2000 that loss was over £130 million. The cost of claims had put immense pressure on premium prices.
He added that home insurance had been driven up because of the huge claims which resulted from severe storms and flooding since 1999.
"The combined bill for household and commercial property insurance claims facing IIF members due to the November 2000 flooding was in excess of £40 million," he said.
Responding to the report, which also found the cost of package holidays had increased during the changeover, the president of the Irish Travel Agents' Association, Mr Tony Brazil, said €10 had been added to all package holidays after the September 11th attacks to cover increased aviation costs.
The chairman of the GP committee of the Irish Medical Organisation, Dr James Reilly, said doctors were charging more but he did not believe there was "a surreptitious rounding-up of fees" during the changeover.
GPs had to charge more to improve their practices, and to provide themselves with a pension, he said.
He said he would welcome an examination of the true cost of general practice but rejected the suggestion that GPs put prices up to compensate for the loss of income from over-70s who now all had medical cards.
The cost of pharmaceutical products - both prescription and over the counter - went up by 1.8 per cent.
However, Mr Paddy Johnson, a pharmacist in Walkinstown, Dublin, emphasised that prescription drugs cost the same everywhere as they are fixed by the Department of Health. If they went up, it was not pharmacists who were to blame, he said.
Mr Donal MacNally, an optician in Dublin, said the report tarred everyone in his profession with the same brush.
It said opticians' fees went up 7.1 per cent. He said he put up prices every year in line with inflation but had not rounded up prices during the changeover.
Dentists' fees went up 4.7 per cent but the Irish Dental Association said there was no evidence of profiteering by its members during the changeover.