But I think that the reality is that a lot of that is now perception rather than reality.
I will grant that we lack mid-range dining options. The chains that you find in the UK - Ask, Giraffe, Strada etc. - are just not present in Ireland and that does make eating out expensive. It's also true that eating out is the one are we are not competitive with the UK. However, we are similarly priced compared to Holland, Belgium, Germany etc and alot of the difference comes from the UK's decision to collapse its currency a couple of years ago - a decsion that is now sees the UK RPI hovering around the 5% mark (i.e. converging back towards the norm after a currency instigated drop).
A lot of transport comes down to being used to how to get the best out of the system. I tend to think of UK train prices as scandalously high, but my sister, who lives there assures me that if you book in advance on the right websites that it can come down. Same in Ireland. A walk-up single might leave you gasping for breath, but book online and you'll to Dublin-Cork for E12.
I think the paucity of the transport network, especially along the tourist areas on the west coast is probably a far greater factor in keeping tourists away.
Attractions? £20 for the Tower of London. £14 Kew Gardens. Moving out of London, £11 for Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire, £9 Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire, £26 Longleat Safari Park. I'm not sure the E10 for Blarney Castle, E13.50 for Midleton Distillery or E14 for Fota are that bad in comparison to UK attractions really.
I really do think that with the exception of eating, we aren't the bad value we make ourselves out to be and if anything if we keep going on about it, we risk creating the perception of it. As a tourist destination, we're not Spain and there's no point even trying to compete with Spain and I think if we focus on price, we might be ignoring the real factors that keep people away.