Sir, – Recently John FitzGerald discussed a study of the ESRI which compared living standards in Northern Ireland and the Republic (“Unification would hit South harder than 2008 crash”, Business This Week, April 25th). It reported a much higher level of disposable income in the South compared to the North, noting that the gap in personal income is just under 20 per cent.
This difference, however, should be treated with caution when considering comparisons in living standards between the two. The fact is that while disposable income is higher in the Republic than in Northern Ireland, the cost of living is significantly greater in the former than in the latter. This is clear when we consider the key areas of health, education and housing.
In Northern Ireland, doctors’ appointments, prescription medicines and dispensing costs are provided at no expense for everyone. In the Republic, many people have to pay for these services. Prescription drug costs at pharmacies in the North for 2023-24 came to £501 million, met by the National Health Service.
Waiting times for consultant and hospital care are shorter south of the border. Part of the reason for this is that many people in the South pay for health insurance policies and avail of private hospitals, which relatively few in the North do.
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In Northern Ireland, apart from a few preparatory schools and a couple of secondary schools, there are no fee-paying schools. So education is free for all.
In the Republic, there are many fee-paying schools. In the South, members of the Protestant community have to pay school fees to maintain their faith secondary schools, while in the North members of the Catholic community do not have to pay at all for their faith secondary/grammar schools.
The greatest difference between North and South, however, lies in the price of houses and rents. By the last quarter of 2024 the average house price in Northern Ireland had risen to £183,000. In the Republic, the median cost of a house purchased in the 12 months to December 2024 reached €355,000. Higher mortgage payments in the South are a consequence.
By January 2025 average monthly rents in the North stood at £838. In the South, the average rent in the final quarter of 2024 was double that, standing at €1,956. This southern figure is higher than the average anywhere else in these islands.
Any comparison of living standards between Northern Ireland and the Republic needs to consider both levels of income and costs of living. Compared to northerners, southerners enjoy a higher level of income but they also face higher living costs. A lower level of income in the North is compensated for by a lower cost of living.
Southern readers can be reassured that their northern cousins are better off than has been reported. – Yours, etc,
Prof BRIAN M WALKER,
Belfast,
Co Antrim.
