There has been a call for the Competition Authority to investigate price increases in short-haul flight baggage charges introduced at the weekend by country's main airlines.
Fine Gael transport spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell called on the authority to investigate increases introduced by Aer Lingus and Ryanair.
Ms Mitchell said: "The baggage increases, introduced by stealth by our two main carriers, are just too similar in amount, in timing, and in the manner of their introduction, to be a coincidence"
"It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that this is the result of some sort of collusion, be it explicit or implicit. As such, it demands investigation by the Competition Authority," she claimed
Baggage charges of €4 per bag booked in advance over the internet introduced by Aer Lingus earlier this year were increased to €5 over the weekend, representing an increase of 25 per cent. The €8 charge on bags checked in at the airport remains the same.
Speaking on RTÉ radio's Morning Irelandthis morning, Consumer Association of Ireland chairman Michael Kilcoyne said the increases were "scandalous."
Ryanair, which was described by Mr Kilcoyne as that "great bastion of how to extract money from the public without them knowing it," raised its prices by a third.
The €4.50 per bag checked in on the internet increased to €6, and the €10 charged by the airline for bags checked in at the airport has now risen to €12.
BMIbaby charges were increased by 24 per cent.
Mr Kilcoyne criticised of a lack of consultation by the airlines and urged passengers to complain over the increases at every opportunity.
Aer Lingus has claimed it has not received any negative feedback from customers since the introduction of short-haul flight baggage charges in January.
In a statement released to ireland.comthis morning, Aer Lingus claimed the online price increase was made "in line with competition".
When the charges were first introduced in January, Aer Lingus justified the move saying baggage charges were becoming standard in the competitive short-haul sector. The company insisted that such a policy would enable the airline to reduce costs and in turn reduce fares for passengers.