asked the Minister for Supplies if he is aware that the present method of issuing information regarding maximum prices for commodities is unsatisfactory; and, if so, whether, in order to convenience shopkeepers and retailers generally, he will have issued at short intervals a booklet showing clearly and concisely the up-to-date position regarding fixed prices for different articles.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Information Regarding Fixed Prices.
I am not aware that the present method of issuing information regarding maximum prices for commodities is unsatisfactory.
Whenever the maximum price of a commodity is fixed, the making of the relevant Order is announced in the Press by means of an advertisement and a publicity notice. It is also announced over the radio. In addition, a large-sized advertisement containing particulars of the maximum retail prices of a large range of commodities is published every fortnight in the four daily morning newspapers and in the evening papers published in Dublin and Cork. These advertisements appear also in the 39 principal provincial newspapers.
Apart from this publicity, a booklet on rationing and price control has been published for the guidance of shopkeepers. This booklet, which was first published in July, 1943, and of which four revised and up-to-date editions have appeared since, contains full particulars of the maximum prices of the principal commodities subject to price control. A further revised edition has been prepared and will be published shortly. This booklet is on sale at the Government Publications Sales Office, and other booksellers.