The Director of Consumer Affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, has asked for penalties for breaches of consumer law to be increased.
In the annual report of the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs published this morning, the director expresses concern with the low level of maximum penalties which may be imposed by the District Court.
The legislation, in some cases, dates back 30 years or more, the report notes.
Ms Foley has now asked the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to consider amending legislation to significantly increase penalties.
The report also says four retailers or companies were prosecuted last year for offences relating to misleading prices.
Over 500 possible breaches of the Consumer Information Act 1978 were investigated - 238 for misleading price indications and 280 for misleading advertising.
Almost all of the issues and problems were resolved through voluntary compliance, according to the ODCA.
In all, 2,214 investigations were carried out last year, up 300 on 2001. There was an increase of over 9,000 inquiries to the ODCA's helpline on consumer issues in 2002, bringing the total to 32,000. This was partly due to the introduction of new technology and a restructuring of the ODCA during the year.
The ODCA report says that the drop in the overall number of prosecutions last year should not be taken as reflecting a "soft approach to prosecution" but was indicative of "quicker rectification" of possible breaches by traders following contact from ODCA inspectors.