Stealth taxes, price hikes cost average couple €1,000

THE average couple has lost up to €1,000 since the Budget despite Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy's promise they would gain €95, the Labour Party said yesterday.

McCreevy claimed that a fictional couple with two children, whom he called Duncan and Mary, had benefited €95 from the Budget.

But instead they have been hit by a litany of price increases and stealth taxes that have left them significantly worse off, said Labour Consumer Affairs spokeswoman Kathleen Lynch.