Rip-Off Republic

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Rip-Off Republic was an RTÉ television show highlighting the cost of living and working in Ireland. It was presented by Eddie Hobbs and was broadcast on Mondays at 21:30 on RTÉ One during late August and early September 2005.

Four programmes were aired in the series, each targeting a different area of the Irish economy:

1. Groceries;
2. Alcohol;
3. Transport;
4. Taxation.

According to RTÉ[1], the programme attracted record viewing figures, with 667,000 people (51% audience share) watching the second programme in the series.

The show was filmed in front of a live audience at The Helix theatre in Dublin City University. It was presented in the format of a stand-up monologue by Eddie Hobbs, with occasional inserts filmed on location.

[edit] Reactions to the show

In August 2005, Stephen O'Byrnes, a former official of the Progressive Democrats political party, and a current member of the RTÉ Authority, made a complaint to RTÉ management, alleging that the programme was biased and lacked balance. In addition various Fianna Fáil backbenchers are also known to be unhappy at the programme, with TD for Westmeath, Donnie Cassidy, threatening to call Hobbs and RTÉ management before a committee to explain their behaviour.

On September 6, 2005, Hobbs told the Last Word programme on Today FM that he was pulling out of a planned appearance on The Late Late Show on RTÉ the following Friday, after RTÉ promoted the appearance prior to the final Rip-Off Republic programme.

It has been reported in several national newspapers that RTÉ sources have described the programme as a "once-off" and not likely to return.[2]