CC said:
Surely the mismanagement of construction projects is a rip off in the sense that the price taxpayers were charged for the project was several times higher than the original figure? Or that projects haven't delivered expected benefits? I don't want to get into semantics here, but surely these are 'rip offs' in some way?
It's not really semantics and again there is little evidence of rip-off. The programme format is designed for entertainment rather than for information, so there was no one around to discuss or challenge the figures.
If I think something will cost €300m and it ends up costing €800m, there are two explanations. Eddie would only have us believe one explanation. The correct cost is the lower figure of €300m and therefore we have been ripped off by €500m. The much more likely explanation is that the planners underestimated the cost in the first place. Seamus Brennan made a very good point, which was derided by Eddie. The cost overrun should be compared with the tender documents, not with the original plan. All large projects must go out to tender across the entire European Union. It is a competitive market.
There is a very serious issue if we plan our infrastructure based on €300m estimates but which should have been estimated at €800m. We do need to address this bad planning and seek to correct it. There is a problem, but it is not a problem of rip-off. And that is my main issue with the programme and everyone who labels everything they don't like about Ireland as a rip-off.
To me a rip-off is where you are quoted one price and charged another; where you are quoted a misleading price; where suppliers act together to keep the prices to artificially high. Eddie suggests that this may have happened in the car industry and if it did, those guys would be guilty of a criminal offence.
So why is the mixed grill a rip-off? Is the Merrion Hotel ripping me off charging me €5 for a pint of Guinness? Absoultely not. If I want to enjoy a pint in the fabulous surroundings of that hotel, then I pay the price. If I don't want to pay €15 for a mixed grill, I have loads of other options. I could slum it and visit the catering car on the train. I could eat beforehand or afterwards. I could even bring my own sandwiches.
As far as I remember I only travelled first class on a train once. I paid a high price for the breakfast, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and did not resent paying for it.
Brendan