However, overall expenditure on R&D in Ireland in 2003, at around 1.2 per cent of GDP or 1.5 per cent of GNP, was still below the EU and OECD averages and well short of the Lisbon target of 3 per cent set by the European Council for the EU as a whole.
Globally, cities such as Sydney and Vancouver are also affected.20 In broader terms, over half of all OECD countries have experienced at least 20 per cent real growth in residential house prices over the past five years.21 Most of these countries did not experience price declines to the same degree as Ireland did after the financial crisis, but have nevertheless seen substantial decreases in affordability.