Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 203: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason that newspapers here are available on the shelves in other jurisdictions at a considerably lower price; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5286/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The issue of price differentials between this jurisdiction and elsewhere and particularly with our neighbouring jurisdiction in Northern Ireland and the UK has been a matter of concern for some time. The House will be aware that I have been engaging with all the elements in the retail sector to bring greater clarity as to the reasons for the differential in prices. My Department and its agencies have undertaken a series of actions within the last 12 to 18 months aimed at ensuring that there is the greatest degree of transparency possible as to the reasons for the north south price differentials. These actions included National Consumer Agency Price Comparison Surveys; the Forfás Report on the Cost of Running Retail Operations in Ireland; and the Competition Authority Study on the Retail-Related Import and Distribution Sector.

As regards comparisons in relation to the price of newspapers, it is important to point out that VAT at the rate of 13.5% is imposed on the sale of newspapers in Ireland, whereas other jurisdictions, such as the UK, do not impose VAT in respect of newspapers.

In terms of general price comparisons, the Consumer Price Index as published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) for December 2009 shows that consumer prices in Ireland continue to fall. Consumer prices were on average 5% lower in December 2009 as compared with prices in December 2008. Insofar as the UK is concerned, the Retail Prices Index (RPI) for December 2009 as published by the UK Office for National Statistics shows that consumer prices are actually increasing and that prices increased by 2.4% in December 2009 as compared with prices in December 2008. At the European level, the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, which is accepted as the most appropriate measure for community wide price comparisons, shows that in the year to November 2009 there was a fall of 2.8% in prices in Ireland as compared with an increase in prices of 1% (provisional) throughout the EU as a whole.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 204: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which she has engaged with the retail sector with a view to achieving some degree of equilibrium with adjoining jurisdictions; if she will address the issue of products produced here being freely available on shelves in other jurisdictions at a vastly reduced price; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5287/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The issue of price differentials between this jurisdiction and elsewhere and particularly with our neighbouring jurisdiction in Northern Ireland and the UK has been a matter of concern for some time. The House will be aware that I have been engaging with all the elements in the retail sector to bring greater clarity as to the reasons for the differential in prices. My Department and its agencies have undertaken a series of actions within the last 12 to 18 months aimed at ensuring that there is the greatest degree of transparency possible as to the reasons for the north south price differentials. These actions included National Consumer Agency Price Comparison Surveys; the Forfás Report on the Cost of Running Retail Operations in Ireland; and the Competition Authority Study on the Retail-Related Import and Distribution Sector.

In terms of general price comparisons, the Consumer Price Index as published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) for December 2009 shows that consumer prices in Ireland continue to fall. Consumer prices were on average 5% lower in December 2009 as compared with prices in December 2008. Insofar as the UK is concerned, the Retail Prices Index (RPI) for December 2009 as published by the UK Office for National Statistics shows that consumer prices are actually increasing and that prices increased by 2.4% in December 2009 as compared with prices in December 2008. At the European level, the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, which is accepted as the most appropriate measure for community wide price comparisons, shows that in the year to November 2009 there was a fall of 2.8% in prices in Ireland as compared with an increase in prices of 1% (provisional) throughout the EU as a whole.

The above returns show that prices are falling more rapidly in Ireland than in Northern Ireland, the UK and in the EU as a whole. Whilst this overall narrowing in the differential in prices is very much to be welcomed and clearly will benefit consumers, there remain some areas where the differential in prices continues to be high. The Government is determined to continue to pursue this issue so as to ensure that Irish consumers receive and can expect to receive a fair deal in the goods and services that they buy.