Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Is it the case that even before this crisis hit, the cost of living here in a number of areas mentioned was much higher than in the rest of Europe? I refer to childcare, housing, education and in a number of other areas, and that was pre-Ukraine and pre- the current round of the cost-of-living crisis. Why is that the case? Why do we have higher childcare costs than everywhere else? Why do we have higher rents and house prices? Why do we have the highest education fees compared to anywhere?