Shopping in Northern Ireland

milly4ever

Dooish wrote: »

all supermakets are closed

incorrect. just search by shop- sainsburys forestside is open for example.

Spiritoftheseventies

Nothing like the festive holidays to bring out the auld patriotism in people.

Cicero

Was up in The Quays today (since I did all my Christmas shopping down south, thought I deserved a little post christmas money saving treats and wanted a change of scene from the over-priced under -friendly city centre!!:)) ...arrived about 10am and carpark and sainsburys quiet enough...by the time I left...1.30.., car park was packed and saw two cars..a merc and possibly a volvo driver, at logger heads with each other over a parking space....absolute madness..neither would give way as to who 'owned' the space...would guestimate that 50% of the cars there today were from ROI...with motorway finished, traffic going into Newry not as bad but queue of traffic into Newry when leaving......
The usual type of deals available in the wine dept... Mcguigans estate Shiraz for £5, a good white Chablis at £6 ..nothing else out of the ordinary though...

Ambersky

Dont know what to think about all this controversy around shopping up North.
Didnt think it was worth my while anyway as my own household probably isnt big enough.

A couple of weeks ago however I had reason to go up to Newry on personal buisness and had a prescription on me for two months worth of medication I normally buy in the South.

I have been getting very painful debilitating migraines and my doctor prescribed a tablet called Imigram which Im suppose to take at first sign of an attack. For me the first signs are nausea, light sensitivity and maybe a dull headache.
The problem is at €10 a tablet I find myself delaying and wondering am I just feeling a little sick, is this really a migraine starting, will I be wasting €10 taking this now or should I save it untill Im sure? Then it dosent work.
And if I do take it and I dont get a migraine is it because it worked or because it wasnt the start of one anyway. So I havent been giving the med a chance.

I asked if they could fill out the prescription in a chemist in Newry and they wanted to know did I want the whole lot right now. I get 10 a month but didnt know if I could affort 20, cos that normally €200.
They would ask, do you want a box and Id say how many in a box, how much for a box? I was really anxious about the cost.
Then they asked would the generic be ok and if that made it a bit cheaper I was all right with that. They said ok we have 20 here do you want them and again I started on the how much but wasnt getting a clear answer, they kept saying we'll see in a minute.
When the woman brought me over to the cash desk she looked at me and said £20. What £20 I was confused. Did they mean each.
No it was £20 for 20.
When I told the chemist my story she said thats terrible people shouldnt be afraid to take their medicine because of the cost. And that true.

How can that price difference be justified?

Morgans

Ambersky wrote: »

Dont know what to think about all this controversy around shopping up North.
Didnt think it was worth my while anyway as my own household probably isnt big enough.

A couple of weeks ago however I had reason to go up to Newry on personal buisness and had a prescription on me for two months worth of medication I normally buy in the South.

I have been getting very painful debilitating migraines and my doctor prescribed a tablet called Imigram which Im suppose to take at first sign of an attack. For me the first signs are nausea, light sensitivity and maybe a dull headache.
The problem is at €10 a tablet I find myself delaying and wondering am I just feeling a little sick, is this really a migraine starting, will I be wasting €10 taking this now or should I save it untill Im sure? Then it dosent work.
And if I do take it and I dont get a migraine is it because it worked or because it wasnt the start of one anyway. So I havent been giving the med a chance.

I asked if they could fill out the prescription in a chemist in Newry and they wanted to know did I want the whole lot right now. I get 10 a month but didnt know if I could affort 20, cos that normally €200.
They would ask, do you want a box and Id say how many in a box, how much for a box? I was really anxious about the cost.
Then they asked would the generic be ok and if that made it a bit cheaper I was all right with that. They said ok we have 20 here do you want them and again I started on the how much but wasnt getting a clear answer, they kept saying we'll see in a minute.
When the woman brought me over to the cash desk she looked at me and said £20. What £20 I was confused. Did they mean each.
No it was £20 for 20.
When I told the chemist my story she said thats terrible people shouldnt be afraid to take their medicine because of the cost. And that true.

How can that price difference be justified?

Great read Ambersky. Shocking really. Pharmacists really have it tough. No doubt the usual reasons will be trotted out, rates, VAT, minimum wage maintaining that excessive profiteering would never be a factor in the price difference.

Tipsy Mac

Morgans wrote: »

Great read Ambersky. Shocking really. Pharmacists really have it tough. No doubt the usual reasons will be trotted out, rates, VAT, minimum wage maintaining that excessive profiteering would never be a factor in the price difference.

It's mainly to do with cosy relationships between GP's and the Medical Board limiting the approval and supply of generic drugs onto the Irish market, ofcourse from a Pharmacists point of view the more expensive the drug is the more money to be made so it suits all involved except the idiotic goverment who should be regulating them to save costs on the tax payer and consumer.

Morgans

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

It's mainly to do with cosy relationships between GP's and the Medical Board limiting the approval and supply of generic drugs onto the Irish market, ofcourse from a Pharmacists point of view the more expensive the drug is the more money to be made so it suits all involved except the idiotic goverment who should be regulating them to save costs on the tax payer and consumer.

Oh I know. The armageddon the pharmacists were predicting following the action in June hasnt really come to pass. Dont mean to take the discussion off topic. Sorry.

Bugnug

Its digraceful that people take there money to another country. Apart from saving a few euros which I am not convinced is the case? All this does is increase the tax revenue to the British government and create diminished returns in Ireland and leads to unemployment. So the next time you leave your kids at school in Ireland a school paid for with tax payers money or the next time you decide to visit northern Ireland via our road system paid for with tax money how about you stop and have a think about what you are doing?

Tipsy Mac

Bugnug wrote: »

Its digraceful that people take there money to another country. Apart from saving a few euros which I am not convinced is the case? All this does is increase the tax revenue to the British government and create diminished returns in Ireland and leads to unemployment. So the next time you leave your kids at school in Ireland a school paid for with tax payers money or the next time you decide to visit northern Ireland via our road system paid for with tax money how about you stop and have a think about what you are doing?

We are in the EU, it's an open market, if we can't compete we should leave and introduce border controls on what people can spend across the border. Lisbon was all about us being better Europeans not better Irish people

Morgans

Bugnug wrote: »

Its digraceful that people take there money to another country. Apart from saving a few euros which I am not convinced is the case? All this does is increase the tax revenue to the British government and create diminished returns in Ireland and leads to unemployment. So the next time you leave your kids at school in Ireland a school paid for with tax payers money or the next time you decide to visit northern Ireland via our road system paid for with tax money how about you stop and have a think about what you are doing?

Having read the 237 pages in this thread, your argument has made me see the error in my ways. Thank you.

Bugnug

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

We are in the EU, it's an open market, if we can't compete we should leave and introduce border controls on what people can spend across the border. Lisbon was all about us being better Europeans not better Irish people

I am very much pro Europe but the countries tax revenue is in a very bad state as you can see considering the savage cuts in the recent budget. The reatail sector has been decimated by people travelling up the north. All for being a good European but we need people to get back here and spend. This will generate consumer confidence and this will greatly help the economy to recover.

Bugnug

Morgans wrote: »

Having read the 237 pages in this thread, your argument has made me see the error in my ways. Thank you.

Your welcome. Anytime.

Cicero

Bugnug wrote: »

Its digraceful that people take there money to another country. Apart from saving a few euros which I am not convinced is the case? All this does is increase the tax revenue to the British government and create diminished returns in Ireland and leads to unemployment. So the next time you leave your kids at school in Ireland a school paid for with tax payers money or the next time you decide to visit northern Ireland via our road system paid for with tax money how about you stop and have a think about what you are doing?

Taking this one step further Bugnug, what you are saying is the following:

1. Never by anything from a non-Irish based website
2. Never ever leave the country - not on holidays, on business or whatever..ever..as by doing so, you are taking money out of the economy...
3. Please nobody come from outside of Ireland to visit here or spend money, as you are betraying your own country by doing so.....

As has been said a number of times in this and other threads, it's all about balance...but it's also about what people can afford....I pay PRSI, Tax, motor tax, mortgage, bin charges, govt levies, etc etc etc etc....I holiday both in Ireland and abroad (thankfully I can still afford one main holiday a year) ....in other words, i would reckon that the majority of my money is spent in ROI, along with most other people...
In months/years to come, if Stg does a turn around and strengthens against euro, I wonder will you be posting here, asking people from NI to keep their STG in the six counties?

positron

Ambersky wrote: »

Then they asked would the generic be ok and if that made it a bit cheaper I was all right with that.

Generic version of most drugs are a lot cheaper than the original. Some people would argue against it, and some for it - I don't really know what's the difference, other than the huge price difference.

Also not sure why Irish pharmacists won't stock the same and suggest them to you as a cheaper alternative. Probably another case of greed clouding ethics!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_drug

Bugnug

Cicero wrote: »

Taking this one step further Bugnug, what you are saying is the following:

1. Never by anything from a non-Irish based website
2. Never ever leave the country - not on holidays, on business or whatever..ever..as by doing so, you are taking money out of the economy...
3. Please nobody come from outside of Ireland to visit here or spend money, as you are betraying your own country by doing so.....

As has been said a number of times in this and other threads, it's all about balance...but it's also about what people can afford....I pay PRSI, Tax, motor tax, mortgage, bin charges, govt levies, etc etc etc etc....I holiday both in Ireland and abroad (thankfully I can still afford one main holiday a year) ....in other words, i would reckon that the majority of my money is spent in ROI, along with most other people...
In months/years to come, if Stg does a turn around and strengthens against euro, I wonder will you be posting here, asking people from NI to keep their STG in the six counties?

1. I purchase products from non Irish websites
2. I holiday both in Ireland and abroad
3. I welcome with open arms all visitors to the ROI to spend as much money as they choose.

My point is simply this, thousands of people involved in cross border shopping has done serious damage to the tax take and employment in this country. We need that tax money to build and maintain basic services and infrastructure. Millions and millions of euro crossing the border every month is hurting our country very badly. It needs to stop. According to yesterdays Irish times 40,000 young Irish people will leave here next year. People need to wake up and look at the bigger picture here. Every penny that is taken out of the country hurts. I am not suggesting that cross border shopping is the cause of our countreies woes, far from it but it is a major factor.

Cicero

Bugnug wrote: »

1. I am not suggesting that cross border shopping is the cause of our countreies woes, far from it but it is a major factor.

..as is holidaying abroad, buying online..etc etc...i.e. ...if it's not Newry, then it will be Amazon....you can't tell people to buy more expensive goods when there are cheaper on their doorstep or at their fingertips.....consumer economics just doesn't work like that...I advocate support for local communities based businesses...I spend EUR100s every week in my local community...but please don't expect me to pay nearly 50% more for certain goods because I won't.....so either Northern Ireland gets my money or it remains in my pocket....

Bugnug

Cicero wrote: »

..as is holidaying abroad, buying online..etc etc...i.e. ...if it's not Newry, then it will be Amazon....you can't tell people to buy more expensive goods when there are cheaper on their doorstep or at their fingertips.....consumer economics just doesn't work like that...I advocate support for local communities based businesses...I spend EUR100s every week in my local community...but please don't expect me to pay nearly 50% more for certain goods because I won't.....so either Northern Ireland gets my money or it remains in my pocket....

What you are talking about here are one of purchases, laptops, holidays, clothes. I am talking about day to day items that are purchased of the shelves of supermarkets,volume items that you and I spend "EUR100s" on every week. This is what does the real damage.

skywalker_208

Bugnug wrote: »

Every penny that is taken out of the country hurts.

Every penny that I spend in the north hurts ME a little less....
So I will continue to do so as long as this is the case.

As soon as Irish retailers and the government make changes which means it is more worth my while to shop here rather than up the north - I will do so....

skywalker_208

Bugnug wrote: »

What you are talking about here are one of purchases, laptops, holidays, clothes. I am talking about day to day items that are purchased of the shelves of supermarkets,volume items that you and I spend "EUR100s" on every week. This is what does the real damage.

Eh - what?
Please provide links to your proof/research to support this statement.

p.s. I no longer spend 100s of euros in supermarkets every week as you can get the same weekly shop across the border for 50 or 60 pounds.

Bugnug

skywalker_208 wrote: »

Every penny that I spend in the north hurts ME a little less....
So I will continue to do so as long as this is the case.

As soon as Irish retailers and the government make changes which means it is more worth my while to shop here rather than up the north - I will do so....

Ok well how about this,

1. Please dont use our national road network to get to NI
2. If you have children would you mind bringing them to school in NI please
3. The next time you or one of your family is sick will you please bring them to a hospital in the North.
4. Please refrain from using any public libraries, swimming pools, galleries and museums.
5. Stay out of the pheonix or any other public parks in Ireland.

If you can please refrain from using any public facilities in Ireland then be my quest and spend all you want in NI.

skywalker_208

Bugnug wrote: »

Ok well how about this,

1. Please dont use our national road network to get to NI
2. If you have children would you mind bringing them to school in NI please
3. The next time you or one of your family is sick will you please bring them to a hospital in the North.
4. Please refrain from using any public libraries, swimming pools, galleries and museums.
5. Stay out of the pheonix or any other public parks in Ireland.

If you can please refrain from using any public facilities in Ireland then be my quest and spend all you want in NI.

1. Nope - as I have already paid my road tax I am fully entitled to use them
2. Nope - as I pay tax on my earnings which pay for these schools
3. Nope - as my health insurance which comes directly out of my pocket pays for this.
4. Nope - see point 2.
5. Nope - see point 2....

baseless arguments tbh

muffler

Give it a rest guys and start a new thread on another forum please.

Bugnug

skywalker_208 wrote: »

1. Nope - as I have already paid my road tax I am fully entitled to use them
2. Nope - as I pay tax on my earnings which pay for these schools
3. Nope - as my health insurance which comes directly out of my pocket pays for this.
4. Nope - see point 2.
5. Nope - see point 2....

baseless arguments tbh

And do you not think that the roads and public infrastructure need maintenace and upgrading?

Any suggestions where the tens of thousands of out of work retail people might find jobs?

And then there are the tens of thousands of suppliers who are either out of business or on their knees?

The Guvnor

Talk about dragging this thread down mate. There is no need to judge people.

Did the EU not pay for a lot of our infrastructure anyway?

As has been said many, many times the price differences are not justified in anyway shape or form. Simple things like Tropicana twice the price or very nearly in the south. I doubt very much that the southern retailers are paying more for their goods.

Are you saying that the extra money overspent in foreign owned supermarkets helps the Irish economy in a major way?

No need to judge people for trying to make their taxed income go a little further.

Basq

Enough of this please Bugnug.. this is a place to discuss Bargain Alerts - start a thread in 'Ranting & Raving'.

We've all heard this argument before... but this forum was set up to discuss 'Bargain Alerts' in the North - the politics on how and where we wish to spend our money is not relevent here.

That's the end of it.. any further posts on the subject will result in a temporary or in harsh circumstances, a permanent ban.

rainbowdash

Bugnug wrote: »

Its digraceful that people take there money to another country. Apart from saving a few euros which I am not convinced is the case? All this does is increase the tax revenue to the British government and create diminished returns in Ireland and leads to unemployment. So the next time you leave your kids at school in Ireland a school paid for with tax payers money or the next time you decide to visit northern Ireland via our road system paid for with tax money how about you stop and have a think about what you are doing?

I don't get your point at all. When people go up north they buy wine, clothes, toys, fruit etc. etc. a lot of it is made in China and such places so there is no logical reason for it to be way cheaper up there.

It all comes back to government policy and the cornerstone it was built on for the last decade - overpaying public servants.

Basq

rainbowdash.. see my post above yours.

Final warning!

Ambersky

Oops maybe I led this kind of off topic with the way I worded my post
So here it is put more simply.

Bargain Alert.
Imigran migraine tablet £1 in Newry - €10 in the South.

Available only on prescription in the south but you can get a couple without prescription if you fill in a questionaire in chemists in the UK and I think Northern Ireland.

The Guvnor

Ambersky, It is at the discretion of a NI chemist to dispense a prescription from a SI doctor. IME most will happily oblige. Your post was a good one and definitely a 'bargain alert' if ever there was one!

I think the normal variance in price would not be quite as great but in your case it is quite an unbelieveable price difference. Same brand and everything I see.

Thankfully I do not have much need for scripts but when I do get one, I would and do if feasible get it filled in NI.

On a side note to this - the chemists in NI seem to dispense much faster than down south. No 30 minute wait for a few pills.

anotherlostie

positron wrote: »

Generic version of most drugs are a lot cheaper than the original. Some people would argue against it, and some for it - I don't really know what's the difference, other than the huge price difference.

Also not sure why Irish pharmacists won't stock the same and suggest them to you as a cheaper alternative. Probably another case of greed clouding ethics!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_drug

In many cases, as here, there is no Irish generic version. And for many others, the Irish generics are nowhere near as cheap as the UK ones which often cost pence. The reason for this is nothing to do with the pharmacists or GP's.

It is the Department of Health negotiations with the pharma companies. Because Ireland has such a huge number of pharma companies employing thousands of people, the government considers it more important to keep them sweet than have very cheap generic drugs. And if a couple of companies decided to leave Ireland if this came to pass, the impact on the economy would be worse than all the people shopping in NI combined in terms of lost pay packets, continued investment and corporation tax.