Price levels for food, beverages and tobacco were all above the EU average during 2012.
Figures published by the Central Statistics Office show the gap between Irish prices and the average price level across the EU ranged from as little as 10% in the case of meat, bread and cereals to 99% for tobacco.
Prices in Ireland were higher than average across all seven of the food and beverage categories measured. Fruit, vegetable and potato prices, for example, were 38% higher and non-alcoholic beverages were 31% more expensive than the average price paid.
The figures compare Irish prices not only with those across the 27 EU member states but also bring in three European Free Trade Association countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Turkey, Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Altogether 37 countries were covered by the survey and 500 different products were compared.
Although Irish prices were above the average for most of the products Denmark and Austria ranked as the two most expensive EU member states and Poland the cheapest.
