Pubs, restaurants and hotels which raise their prices during sporting events give the tourism industry a bad name, Tourism Minister John O'Donoghue said today.
Mr O'Donoghue praised the work of the Director of Consumer Affairs who recently published surveys on drink prices in pubs during Six Nations Rugby weekends in Dublin.
But in a hard-hitting rebuke, the minister told the Dail: "A small number of people in the drinks, accommodation and food industry are giving (other operators) a bad name.
"People who engage in increasing prices for the sake of the occasion to take advantage of the punter do a grave disservice to the industry at large, to their colleagues in the same industry and to the nation at large.
"It really is important that this House say to allcomers that these practices are not acceptable and we're not going to tolerate them."
PA