Rip-Off Republic

infobox television
show_name = Rip-Off Republic


caption =
format = Comedy
runtime =
creator =
starring = Eddie Hobbs
country = Ireland
network = Radio Telefís Éireann
first_aired = August
last_aired = September 2005
num_episodes = 4

"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.

The show was filmed in front of a live audience at The Helix in Dublin City University. It was presented in the format of a stand-up monologue by Eddie Hobbs, with occasional inserts filmed on location. According to RTÉ [ [http://www.rte.ie/arts/2005/0818/hobbse.html] ] , the programme attracted record viewing figures, with 667,000 people (51% audience share) watching the second programme in the series.

Episodes

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

# Groceries
# Alcohol
# Transport
# Taxation

Reaction

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 were also known to be unhappy with the programme; TD for Westmeath, Donnie Cassidy, threatened 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 was reported in several national newspapers that RTÉ sources described the programme as a "once-off" and not likely to return. [ [http://www.unison.ie/entertainment/news/stories.php3?ca=228&si=1459539] ]

References