Vol. 543 No. 2
149 Mr. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she has satisfied herself in the run-up to euro changeover day that advantage is not being taken of the situation to introduce unfounded price hikes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26216/01]
The majority of traders want to behave honourably and responsibly during the changeover to the euro. Many traders recognise that it makes good business sense to be in a position to start trading confidently in the new currency on 1 January and have taken the necessary steps to ensure that they will be in a position to do so. Retailers in particular will be in the front line during the changeover process and will have a crucial role to play in facilitating acceptance of the euro by consumers. Retailers, therefore, have a special responsibility to ensure that they have taken all the necessary steps to be ready to start trading in euros from 1 January.
Now is the time for retailers, who have not already done so, to start using the extensive advice and support available to them through Government initiatives such as the Forfás Business Awareness Campaign, as well as the assistance of trade representative bodies such as IBEC, RGDATA and the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, to prepare for the changeover.
The introduction of the euro should not, of itself, require any trader to increase prices. Of course, it is open to any business to increase their prices if they want to do so. In the absence of a strict regime of price control that would require all price adjustments to be approved in advance there is no way of proving whether or not such increases are justified. Likewise it is open to traders to decrease prices, as presumably many will, during the period of the post Christmas sales. This is the norm in an open competitive market.
The retail market, in particular, is highly competitive and at the end of the day those who seek to take advantage of the introduction to the euro to introduce unwarranted price increases will be punished by the market. Consumers need to realise the power that they themselves have if they feel they are not being treated fairly – and that is to take their business elsewhere. This is the ultimate sanction for any trader who seeks to take advantage of the changeover.
I firmly believe that dual display of prices is the key to helping consumers and traders alike prepare for and become more confident in using the euro. Through exposure to dual display consumers can compare prices between Irish pounds and euros and build up a scale of values for themselves in the new currency. That is the objective of the national code of practice on dual display of prices. The benefits of co-operating together to ensure the smooth introduction of the euro have also been recognised by the groups of traders who participated in drawing up their own sectoral codes of practice on dual display of prices.
