Welcome to ripoff.ie Fine Gael's consumer rights website.
In 2004, Fine Gael launched ripoff.ie and over the past five years thousands of consumers have brought to our attention their experiences of Rip Off Ireland in your thousands. And we have responded too - on everything from utility prices to mobile phones, houses to funeral costs we have been highlighting the high cost of living in Ireland and coming up with radical, workable solutions that will shut the door on Rip Off Ireland once and for all.
Our Rip-Off Ireland campaign is now over. In January 2009 we launched our policy document, Finding Real Value, which sets forth Fine Gael's proposals to deliver better consumer value and protection. The document can be downloaded here, and the main proposals are:
Reversing measures in Budget 2009 which are driving up prices, including the VAT increase to 21.5% and transport fares;
Freezing Government charges and local authority rates and levies in order to reduce business costs;
An immediate review of electricity and gas prices;
Abolishing surcharges for payments by credit card, debit card and direct debit, and abolishing expiry dates for shopping vouchers;
Utility regulators will have to publish a detailed case for every proposed price increase, and hold public hearings. Consumers will have the right to petition regulators to review prices;
A new arbitration system for disputes between consumers and businesses, and increase the threshold in the Small Claims Court to €12,000;
Extended breaks in services such as electricity, multi-channel TV or telephone will have to be refunded;
Merge the National Consumer Agency and Competition Authority into an Irish Fair Trading Authority (IFTA);
IFTA will have real powers, including monitoring tax and excise, and ensuring that currency fluctuations are passed on to consumers;
Government and public bodies shall give a reasoned response to IFTA recommendations.
We are leaving this website up to higlight some of the recent campaigns we have carried out in this area through 2008 and 2009.
Enda Kenny TD Leader of Fine Gael
Leo Varadkar TD Fine Gael Spokesperson
on Enterprise, Trade and Employment
