Three pubs will be prosecuted for failing to display price lists following investigations by the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs (ODCA).
Publishing her annual report for 2004, Carmel Foley said her inspectors carried out seven pub surveys last year to promote price awareness among consumers, to establish if pubs were raising their prices during special events and to monitor compliance with price display laws.
Six pubs out of 10 in the Lansdowne Road/Baggot Street areas of Dublin increased their prices during a major rugby international last March. Just one out of 11 pubs increased its prices during a match at Croke Park the following month, however.
There were no increases by publicans in Tralee and Cork during the Rose of Tralee Festival and the Cork Jazz Festival.
Ms Foley said investigations and inspections by the ODCA, coupled with the promotion of consumer awareness and vigilance, had been at the centre of her office's drive to protect consumers' interests.
A total of 1,500 investigations arising from consumer complaints were undertaken by the ODCA last year. In some cases, where warnings from an inspector failed to bring about compliance, the ODCA took court action and there were 27 successful prosecutions.
Ms Foley welcomed the fact that new legislation will increase the maximum fines in the District Court for those who fail to comply with consumer law to €3,000.
Some 32,000 calls were received by the ODCA helpline looking for information and advice last year, the annual report said.
Ms Foley said general levels of compliance with consumer legislation by retailers and suppliers were high. In relation to advertising, price display, product safety and labelling, compliance sometimes reached 100 per cent.