But Hobbs, who led the campaign to abolish the order, said a more detailed examination of the latest inflation figures from the CSO shows the exact opposite is the case. The abolition of the order last March means that the retail multiples can pass on discounts to shoppers and hence lower prices.

"In its inflation figures published last April, the CSO produced two tables, one covering the increase in food items previously covered by the order and those not covered, " Hobbs told the Sunday Tribune. He said it was unfortunate that the CSO did not reproduce the same tables for its August figures which showed inflation rising sharply by 1.7%.

Hobbs said this had led to various stories in the media that the order was not working, but he claimed a comparison from the CSO's April tables showed food items previously covered by the groceries order had dropped by 0.5% by August.

Meanwhile, Hobbs, whose TV shows enraged the government, also came out in support of embattled Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. "I don't think Bertie Ahern is corrupt, " he said. "We all have dirty hands in some form or another, but it is open season now on all politicians. If we keep this up, it'll end up that only nuns can run the country."

Hobbs' new show on how savers should spend SSIA windfalls starts on RTE tomorrow night.