Restaurant and cinema interests have rejected suggestions that prices rose sharply during the changeover to the euro.
Yesterday, the chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Mr Henry O'Neill, said he would contest the notion that restaurant prices had risen because of the euro.
"Prices were increasing before the changeover and I don't think any of our members would have taken advantage of it," he said.
Mr O'Neill said he would agree, however, that restaurant prices had risen dramatically over the last 18 months.
He said one of the reasons was that staff costs had risen. In 1997/98, staff costs were around 25 per cent of turnover. Now they were up to 35 per cent or 40 per cent.
"One of the reasons for this increase is that young people now have a choice of employment and there is now so much competition that staff have to be attracted into the restaurant sector," he said.
Another reason was the huge hike in insurance premiums. Mr O'Neill said some members just could not get insurance at all. The restaurant sector was now a high risk area.
"Some restaurateurs who had been with one insurer for 20 years have suddenly been told that their insurance will be hiked by 100 to 150 per cent," he said.
A spokesman for Cinema & General Publicity Ltd, which represents up to or 50 per cent of the cinema business in Dublin and rural areas, said he would certainly reject any allegation that they increased prices at the changeover.
"In fact, it is the opposite. The average ticket cost was reduced as we rounded down our prices. The average evening ticket price for an adult outside of Dublin was £4 old money which would have been €5.8. We rounded it down to €5. In Dublin, where prices are a little higher, we did the same."