Ahern accuses Hobbs of playing to the crowds

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern has rounded on one of the Government’s major critics, Eddie Hobbs, suggesting he is playing to his audience.

Mr Hobbs’s highly successful Rip off Republic TV programme is not always factually correct, Mr Ahern said yesterday as he hit back at the consumer activist.

“I know the show is being done kind of as a show for the audience. A lot of it has been based on putting on a presentation, rather than always being factual,” Mr Ahern said.

He took issue with Mr Hobbs’s claim that Ireland’s low tax economy is a myth.

“We know from OECD figures and EU figures that our tax rate is the lowest in Europe,” Mr Ahern said.

He refused to concede that the programme has damaged the Government.

“If what he is doing helps to bring down and keep control of prices, great. The issues he is doing are totally in line with Government policy.”

Mr Hobbs last night stood over the programme and the facts presented where Ireland’s low tax economy status and value for money are concerned.

“It’s about getting value for our tax euro - just look at our hospitals. It doesn’t matter what our tax take as a percentage of GNP is. It’s down to the value we get for it,” he said.

Transport Minister Martin Cullen joined the chorus of politicians’ complaints following Monday night’s programme, which focussed on road projects.

“I’d obviously have some dispute with the correlation he did on figures. In terms of some of the figures that are used, as to where some of the figures come from, it’s hard to track them.

“The fact of the matter is, in my view the figures that matter (are) what is the tender price and what is the outcome,” Mr Cullen said.

Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin was more vocal yesterday about the programme’s merits.

“You have to take the fact that when you go on a programme like that, if you get into the academic arguments and all that, you could lose the punch. The programme has hit hard. In doing so in a polemic manner, it has actually created an awareness that ultimately can bear some dividend.”

Following criticism of Mr Hobbs last week by Junior Health Minister Tim O’Malley and backbench Fianna Fáil TDs, viewership figures rose on Monday night.

Monday’s programme attracted 778,000 viewers, the highest figures for a factual programme so far this year.