Taxi fares from major Irish airports should be fixed to end "rip-offs" by some drivers who face no competition, according to Fine Gael's Phil Hogan.
Mr Hogan, the party's enterprise, trade and employment spokesman, yesterday gave examples of consumer complaints received by his party's website, ripoff.ie, set up to highlight high prices.
These include the charging of a €60 fare from Dublin airport to Dún Laoghaire; a €70 fare from Dublin airport to Celbridge; a fare from Dublin airport to Santry that was twice the price of the same journey in the opposite direction; and a €20 fare from Galway airport to the city, where no other means of public transport is available.
"Ireland should take a leaf out of New York's book and fix taxi fares from major airports at a reasonable level to ensure that domestic and foreign tourists are not ripped off," Mr Hogan said in a statement.
"While the vast majority of taxi drivers are honest and decent, there is anecdotal evidence that some drivers are exploiting [ visitors'] lack of knowledge to hike up fares."