So, the iPhone is released here in Ireland on Friday. I'm quite excited, Landers and I both want one, but I was loathe to buy one from abroad and unlock it because it would be unsupported if anything went wrong. They are quite expensive, and I wouldn't want to take that risk.

There is a big ruckus going on about the so called "Paddy Tax" - the fact that things cost more here than they do elsewhere. The main gripe is that the phone itself is going to cost more than in the UK (despite costing the same as elsewhere in Europe), and the tariffs o2 are offering are rubbish compared to the UK.

The cheapest tariff on offer is €45, and you get 175 minutes, 100 texts and 1GB of data transfer per month. It doesn't matter how much you pay, you still only get the 1GB allowance for data.

The cheapest UK tariff costs about the same, but you get 500 minutes, 500 texts and unlimited data transfer (subject to a fair usage policy).

At first glance, it looks like we're getting screwed. That is, until you look at other tariffs in Ireland. Sticking with o2, to get 100 minutes, 100 texts and their 1GB data add on you have to cough up €50, so the iPhone tarrif actually saves you €5 and you even get an extra 75 minutes for your money. It's a similar story with the other mobile networks here, they all offer less inclusive minutes and texts than in the UK, and you have to pay a lot more for data transfer. The iPhone deal is not bad in a fair comparison.

I've pointed this out on several blogs, and generally I've been blasted for it. Other people seem to think that in Ireland, things should cost the same as everywhere else. I don't really get that. Our taxes are different, our income is different, our economy is different, our currency is different. I was told that my attitude is the reason that the mobile phone companies are able to charge so much; people like me let them get away with it. Well, yes, that's true. But I bet those people use mobile phones currently, so how is that different to signing up to one of the iPhone tariffs? It annoys me that the iPhone has been singled out when the problem is industry wide; the iPhone just happens to be a high-profile item.

Yes, the tariffs are pants, but only when compared to the UK. If the people moaning about the price difference looked at other things, like the cost of petrol, they might shut up. You guys in the UK are totally getting bent over with that one - even at an expensive garage, our petrol works out at about 92p per litre! It's 87p at Tesco!