Irish Pound - Hidden Inflation

Hidden Inflation

When decimal currency and the euro were in turn introduced, many people in Ireland believed that prices had been improperly raised by traders taking advantage of the confusion, exchange rates notwithstanding.

In the case of the euro the government took special measures to try to prevent any unnecessary price changes, which ultimately proved ineffective. The changeover coincided with an economic boom in the country, and inflation was moderately high. People were eager to blame price rises on merchants taking advantage of changeover confusion.

Most retailers, especially the larger chains, continued to show prices in Irish pounds under the euro price for up to 5 years after the changeover, enabling people to see the price in old currency and check whether prices had been improperly inflated.