Ireland was the second most expensive country for consumers in the EU in 2007, according to a report published today from the Central Statistics Office.
The Measuring Ireland's Progress 2008study examined a series of social and economic indicators and found prices in the state were only behind those in Demark, although it had the second highest gross domestic product per capita, at 43 per cent over the EU average.
The study was part of the social partnership agreement (2003 to 2005) which requested the CSO develop a set of national progress indicators to assist with evidence-based policy-making.
Today's report found that inflation in Ireland as measured by the HICP, which excludes mortgage interest repayments, was higher than the EU average between 1999 and 2003 but has been broadly in line with the EU average since 2004.
In the nine-year period to 2008 the population increased by over 18 per cent to 4.42 million, the highest rate of population increase in the EU.
According to the report Ireland has one of the highest pupil teacher ratios in the EU at primary level at 19.4. Ten of the EU member states referred to in the study had a pupil teacher ratio of less than 13.
During the period 1999 to 2008 the employment rate from 62.5 per cent to 68.1 per cent in 2008, with the participation rate for women increasing by over nine percentage points. For men the participation rate rose two percentage points.
Last year Ireland was one of five eurozone member states that exceeded the 3 per cent GDP borrowing limit with a deficit of 7.1 per cent, the highest in the EU.
House building reached a peak of almost 90,000 in 2006 before falling sharply to just under 52,000 last year.
Average loan values have risen from €74,700 in 1998 to €266,400 in 2007 while the value of overall mortgage lending rose from €4.5 billion to €22.4 billion over the same period.
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