SHOPPERS IN the Republic are being asked to pay over 30 per cent more for groceries than consumers in the North, a survey by the National Consumer Agency (NCA) has revealed.
The study compared prices in Tesco, Dunnes Stores and Lidl outlets on both sides of the Border.
It found that a basket of branded goods was 31 per cent more expensive in Dunnes outlets in the Republic, even after adjustments for the differing tax regimes in the two jurisdictions were made. Tesco's customers in the Republic paid 28 per cent more than in Northern Ireland.
Of the 42 branded products surveyed in Tesco outlets North and South, just five cost less in the Republic while a single item - a 2-litre bottle of Coca Cola - was cheaper in Dunnes Stores in the Republic.
Some of the items the NCA priced were over twice as expensive in the Republic. A 750g bag of McCain Beer Battered Ridge Cut Chips which had a euro equivalent price tag of €1.65 in a Tesco store in Banbridge, Co Down cost €3.39 in Dublin, while a small tube of Colgate toothpaste which Tesco sells in Northern Ireland for €1.13 cost €2.19 in the South, a difference of 94 per cent. Tesco in Dublin also charged 32 per cent more for a packet of 38 Pampers nappies.
In Dunnes Stores in Newry a 750ml bottle of Domestos Bleach was €0.82, while a branch of the supermarket in Blanchardstown charged €1.68. A 100g jar of Nescafe Gold Blend coffee which sells for €3.01 in Newry costs €4.44 in Dublin.
The survey found there were smaller differences in the prices of own-brand goods. Products bearing Tesco's name were 17 per cent cheaper in the North, while the difference between own-brand Dunnes Stores products in the two jurisdictions was 11 per cent. Lidl products in the Republic were 16 per cent dearer.
The chief executive of the NCA, Ann Fitzgerald, described the price differentials as inexplicable, even taking account of different business models and costs in the two jurisdictions.
She said that, despite claims from retailers that the cost of doing business in the Republic was higher, it was "interesting that there is a much lower price differential on own-brand goods". She said this was a consequence of greater competition partly due to the presence of Aldi and Lidl.
The NCA also found a greater level of competition in the Northern Ireland grocery market. There was a €2.40 difference between a basket of 22 items in Tesco and Dunnes Stores shops in Northern Ireland, while in the Republic the prices were identical.
"We believe that the greater number of players in the Northern Irish market contributes to competition, but the concentration of just a few main players in the Republic of Ireland market is leading to price matching," Ms Fitzgerald said.
The chief executive of the Consumer Association of Ireland, Dermott Jewell, said the study had "sinister" undertones and suggested there was a "determined campaign" from retailers "to take as much money as possible from a very focused group of consumers. Young parents buying products such as nappies and washing powders are clearly targeted as a group who are going to pay more."
He said statements promising lower prices rang hollow for Irish consumers who have grown tired of empty price promises.
Fine Gael's enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar was surprised at how "stark" the differentials were and called for greater accountability. He said if retailers were unable to justify their pricing structures in the Republic, the Competition Authority should launch an investigation.
Dunnes Stores declined to comment while a Tesco Ireland spokesman said it was "bringing prices down and will continue to bring prices down further".
