NEW EU research ranks Ireland among the more “affordable” member states in which to live but finds Irish consumers want much greater clarity over confusing mortgage and pension products.
The survey, released yesterday by EU consumer policy commissioner John Dalli, says Irish consumers are among the least likely to make a complaint but encounter a high level of misleading or deceptive advertising.
Irish consumers are also among the more likely to shop cross-border, the research suggests.
Some 84 per cent of Irish survey respondents thought that the pension funds on offer need to be simplified, placing Ireland at the top of EU dissatisfaction alongside Britain. In addition, the Irish are more likely than any other Europeans to say mortgage products should be simplified.
Nine out of 10 respondents say mortgages are difficult to understand. Consumers also want greater clarity about debit card products, with 61 per cent of respondents calling on the products to be simplified.
Some 25 per cent of Irish people claim to have responded to an advertisement or offer that turned out to be misleading and 94 per cent claim to have come across at least one unfair commercial practice, the highest level in Europe.
Despite these problems, only 9 per cent of Irish respondents reported making a consumer complaint. Only the Dutch and Austrians were less likely to complain, their reticence is in contrast to Bulgarians and Hungarians who make the most frequent complaints.
The research examined the affordability of consumption taking into account relative income levels and the cost of living, the idea being that differences in the economic wellbeing of consumers depend on income and prices for goods and services.
“Strikingly, life for consumers is more affordable in the richer EU countries, despite high prices,” the commission says. Ireland was the sixth most affordable EU state, according to the research. Measured by purchasing parity standards, goods and services in Ireland were 25 per cent more affordable than the EU average.