Jim Higgins (Fine Gael)

Since the House adjourned, there has been a spate of adverse publicity regarding the huge hike in prices to the extent that we now find ourselves perched at the top of the league of costly countries in Europe and it is doing enormous damage. In a year in which we are supposed to have an increase in tourism revenue, this type of publicity is doing huge damage to the reputation of the country and it must be tackled.

A good illustration of how serious is the situation is that last year there was a mass exodus of people to do their shopping across the Border in Northern Ireland. Senator Ryan has already referred to the 25% increase in Eircom rental charges. At a time when international oil prices are down, our oil, petrol, diesel and home heating oil prices have risen. This is a huge problem. The Tánaiste has said she is concerned about the matter. She stated that competition is the answer and urged us to shop around. However, this is not working. We are definitely living in "rip-off Ireland" and we need to address it as a matter of urgency. In that context, I request an urgent debate on the matter at the earliest possible date.