Six pubs in Dublin have been criticised by a consumers' body for allegedly taking advantage of a major rugby match to increase the price of a pint, writes Elaine Edwards.
In a survey conducted by the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs (ODCA) over two nights last weekend, six pubs in the Baggot Street area were found to have increased their prices overnight, in some cases by as much as €1 on a pint of stout.
Thousands of Scotland fans travelled to Dublin for the Six Nations match against Ireland. In six of the 10 bars surveyed, the price of a pint of stout and a number of other drinks had increased on Saturday.
The highest noted increase was in Maguire's pub on Lower Baggot Street, where the inspectors claimed the price of a pint of stout had risen from €3.90 to €4.90.
However, while the director of consumer affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, insisted last night that her inspectors were correct, the owner of the pub said he had not increased his prices by this much and was seeking legal advice on the report.
Mr Ted O'Sullivan told The Irish Times he was prepared to produce till rolls to prove this, although he was reluctant to discuss by how much his pub had increased its prices on Saturday.
In Fitzsimons' Hotel (formerly The Wellington), the price of a pint of stout increased by 50c to €4.50, according to the ODCA.
In both the Waterloo House and The 51, the increase was 40c to €4.50; in Doheny & Nesbitt's the pint went up by 20c to €4.10 and in Larry Murphy's, it increased by 10c to €4.
Ms Foley said the two inspectors had "checked and double checked" the prices on display. At six pubs, they had found one price list on their Friday visit and "a brand new, shiny price list" on Saturday.
She added that her office could only prosecute pubs where they failed to display the statutory 16-item price list.