Pricewatch looks at the cost of parking your car, in towns and cities in Ireland and in cities around the world.
Here . . .
Dublin: Royal College of Surgeons car park, €2.30;
Jervis Street car park, €2.10;
Christchurch car park, €2.80
Belfast: Odyssey Arena car park, €2.90
Cork: Grand Parade car park, South Mall, €2
Galway: Market Street car park, €1.60
Kilkenny: Ormonde Street car park, €1.10
Portlaoise: Church Street car park, €1
Tullamore: MSCP car park, Main Street, 60c
Waterford: The Quays car park, Meagher's Quay, €1.30
There . . .
London: Masterpark, Knightsbridge, €8.60
Rome: Autosilo, Via Mantova, €1
Madrid: Plaza Santo Domingo, €1.60
Amsterdam: De Bijenkorf car park, €1.30
New York: Stop-Park, Morton Street, €8.50
All prices are for an hour's off-street city-centre parking
Next week: digital cameras
What you've found . . .
Brian Tubbert from south Dublin points out Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has increased its refuse-collection charge from €200 last year to €275 this year, an increase of 37.5 per cent - way above inflation.
The council cites rising costs for insurance, wages and, in particular, environmental- protection schemes such as recycling and bring banks, which were introduced in 2000.
Other councils have also raised their charges. Dublin City Council's fee, for example, has gone from €120.63 to for a large wheelie bin, a jump of almost 28 per cent.
In Co Kilkenny, Martin Doheny & Sons, a contractor, charges €460 a year, up 15 per cent from 2002.
