The euro has given Irish consumers a massive new stamping ground for virtual bargain-hunting. If you could buy your car in France, fill it up with petrol in Greece and stop off in Spain for a fillet steak and a trip to the cinema, you would save yourself a grand total of €9,423.58 (£7,421.67).
With the advent of the single currency, price differentials across the 12 participating states are now easier to spot.
Prices for basic goods and services in the Republic compare fairly well with other eurozone countries, with the notable exceptions of cars, cigarettes and beef, according to a price survey carried out by RT╔ Radio's Liveline team.
The biggest item in the survey, a five-door 1.8 litre Ford Mondeo, is most expensive in the Republic at €27,045, 53 per cent higher than the price paid by motorists in France and 24 per cent above the average eurozone price tag.
Portugal and Finland are the only other two countries where the Mondeo is priced close to the Irish level.
Taxi fares varied wildly from one country to the next. In the example quoted, a 10km taxi ride to the city, the fares ranged from €6.50 in Greece to €30 in the Netherlands.
The fare charged to Irish taxi customers for the journey was below average, at €12.70.
The Republic is by far the most expensive place in the eurozone to buy cigarettes, the survey shows. A pack of 20 Marlboro costs €5.05 here, compared with €2.10 in Portugal, €2.35 in Greece and €2.40 in Spain.
The next most expensive place is Finland, at €4 a pack.
Irish consumers could be forgiven for assuming that meat and dairy products are good value here but the Liveline survey reveals that this is one of the most expensive European states to buy fillet steak.
At €25.38, the price per kilo in the Republic is second-highest after Finland and three time more expensive than Spain. The average price is €19.46 per kilo.
The cheapest litre of full fat milk can be bought in Belgium for €0.55, and the price of an Irish litre is slightly above average at €0.83.
The price of Coca-Cola is also above average in the Republic, the second-highest in the eurozone at €1.33 for a 1.5-litre bottle.
Portugal leads the way as the cheapest place to buy a 0.5-litre can of Guinness, a real bargain at €0.97. The Netherlands is the most expensive at €5.31 and the Republic is below average at €3.43.
For practical purposes, most European consumers won't be able to profit greatly from the knowledge that some goods are cheaper in other states, but euro advocates argue that greater price harmonisation is a likely longer-term outcome of the single currency project.