They say money can’t buy love, but if you want to try, it will cost you a bit more this Valentine’s Day.
Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) has calculated the “changing cost of romance”.
Based on prices of some of the items collected by the stats agency to measure inflation, known as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the CSO says that Valentine’s presents are now a bit pricer.
“Our analysis has found that the cost of a typical St Valentine’s Day gift or night out has increased over the last five years”
Flowers are now more than 12 percent more expensive. A meal out has gone up by nearly one-third over the passed five years, according to the CSO.
“While a bottle of wine has gone up by just 0.9% over that period, a box of chocolates has risen by 1.6% and a bunch of flowers is now 12.1% higher.
For those planning on treating someone special to a night out and are thinking of going for a meal, or making a trip to the cinema or theatre, it’s going to set you back significantly more this year than five years ago.
If you are going to splash out on a meal in a restaurant, it’s worth noting that these costs have risen by 30.7% over the 58-month period. A trip to the cinema is up 3.1% and attending a theatre performance has risen by 14.6%.”