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Cross-border shopping:I wish Lenihan would keep his mouth shut — he's just digging a hole for himself that's getting deeper by the minute.

Instead of making us feel guilty for looking for bargains (which we are all doing as there's a recession) he should be putting pressure on Dublin's shops to bring their prices down and improve their quality. He should be saying, "look guys, there are loads of bargains to be had in the North. You Dublin shopkeepers have to work hard to earn back your customers." Otherwise, it's NI or the internet for me, I'm afraid. - Jonathan

It strikes me as a bit hypocritical that the Irish government lures corporations out of their home countries by saving them money, but castigates Irish consumers who do the same thing with their shopping. - Ciaran Lee

Pub prices

I find it hard to fathom that in a city whose chief brewery is smack bang in the centre, a price of a pint of Guinness or any of the other lagers it is licensed to brew is more expensive or on par with its competitors who incur transport and fuel costs for either shipping it from abroad or from the other side of the country. What is even more baffling is the discrepancy between the cost of a pint of Guinness in the south-west (usually cheaper) and that of it in the capital. So, based on that knowledge, are we to believe Dublin is subsidising cheap drink for counties further away from the brewery? Or, more logically, as has been pointed out, people accept these exorbitant prices and so fuel this higher pricing. - Paul M

Price freeze indeed - the prices should be tumbling. Perhaps the trouble the Thomas Read group have found themselves in has alarmed the association into action. It's just marketing and the floodgates of price-drops will begin soon. - Peter G