The Director of Consumer Affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, is initiating prosecutions against more than 25 publicans throughout the State for failing to comply with retail price display orders.
Pubs must display a 16-item price list at various entrances under the Retail Prices (Beverages in Licensed Premises) Display Order, 1999. This came into operation on September 15th, replacing the nine-item price list.
Since the first round of pub inspections by Consumer Affairs officials before Christmas, some premises have consistently failed to post the new price list, said Ms Foley.
"All those who are being prosecuted have been visited at least three times by inspectors from the Director's office. They have had ample opportunity to comply with the display order," she said.
Pubs in breach of the order cannot be named for legal reasons, said the director.
Ms Foley also wrote to publicans' representative bodies - the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) and Licensed Vinters
Association (LVA) - expressing her concern that some members were ignoring the law. The LVA requested a list of members failing to display the list.
A spokeswoman for the VFI says the prosecutions "need to be put in perspective as it's only 25 out of 10,000 licences throughout the state".
The VFI has been urging its members to comply with the law and continues to do so, she said. The VFI represents more than 6,000 pubs outside the greater Dublin area. The Licensed Vintners Association could not be reached for comment.
The director acknowledges that a substantial number of publicans are belatedly complying with the order and further checks on licensed premises in the past few months have shown this. However, she is not satisfied with the overall level of compliance.
The first tranche of prosecutions begins next month in district courts. More legal proceedings are expected to follow if publicans continue to flout the law.
Earlier in the week, the Minister for Finance, Mr Charlie McCreevy, threatened to tackle publicans' high drinks prices.
Although Ms Foley's announcement is not connected to his comments, she believes the order assists consumers.
"It puts the spotlight on pub prices and people begin to notice what they're paying. These 16 items cover almost 100 per cent of what a pub sells," she said.
Consumers must have the correct information before they make any purchasing decisions. "Knowing prices outside the door gives customers a choice and allows them to shop around," said Ms Foley.
The director has no power to regulate drinks prices. "It's a free market economy, so the Government doesn't regulate prices and therefore I cannot," she said.
Ms Foley was criticised last week by the Consumers Association of Ireland for failing to initiate an adequate number of prosecutions in 1999.
Two prosecutions were taken by her office last year following more than 1,700 investigations. This compares to 29 successful convictions the previous year after more than 1,300 investigations.
During a nationwide survey of licensed premises last October, some 75 per cent of publicans were found not to comply with the requirements of the order. In the annual report of the Director of Consumer Affairs, 1999, released last week, Ms Foley indicated her intention to pursue legal action if the situation continued.