Sir, – Conor Pope’s article comparing costs in Ireland and Portugal made interesting reading (“Guess which cost more – our 2022 holiday abroad, or last year’s staycation?”, Pricewatch, August 20th). Had he compared his Irish staycation with a holiday in Denmark or other Scandinavian countries, I suspect Ireland would have emerged as the cheaper option. It reminded me of the Celtic Tiger years when we drooled over the “What €500,000 can buy you?” feature in your property supplement which ranged from a shed in west Cork to a chateau in Provence.
Looking at various tables, including some from The Irish Times, it would appear the annual post-tax income of the Portuguese is less than half that of the Irish. I doubt the coffee and pastries appear cheap to them. We are a high-cost economy and in the coming winter we will all feel the pinch but we are also very lucky to be relatively well remunerated.
No one knows better than Conor Pope that you cannot compare apples and oranges. – Yours, etc,
GEMMA McCROHAN,
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Dublin 16.
