Ahern hits out at ‘profiteers’

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern last night hit out at “rip-off” merchants for scaring tourists away from Ireland.

In a concerted attempt to regain the political initiative after the Government was put on the back foot by a wave of complaints about the high cost of living, Mr Ahern claimed consumer champion Eddie Hobbs was his ally in a war on greedy "profiteers".

Mr Hobbs's TV series, Rip Off Republic, has been a huge ratings success for RTÉ and drawn strong condemnation from some Government ministers.

Mr Ahern did not criticise Mr Hobbs personally and instead launched a ferocious attack on the opposition, who he claimed were misleading people over the issue. He said people were comparing prices at top hotels in Ireland with backstreet bars in Spain and they wanted to achieve lower prices by slashing the minimum wage and raising taxes.

"I have no time for people who should only get five per cent trying to take ten per cent. We have a war going on and Eddie Hobbs is part of that," he said.

He then criticised the opposition for damaging the country's image abroad and hurting the tourist industry. "I'm totally against people talking down the country. We are trying to bring tourists here and have people trying to compare the Four Seasons against what they had in some side street in Spain from some fellow getting €2 (an hour)."

When Mr Ahern was asked if Mr Hobbs's position on the National Consumer Agency was safe, he replied: "He's a highly respected and highly paid member of it."

Mr Ahern attacked the economic policies of the Fine Gael/Labour alliance, saying they would take Ireland "into the Third World" if they regained power. "The people who want to get rid of me, when they last had the chance, this country was nearly down the tubes," he said.