asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if his Department have available to them any method of certifying that a retail sale is genuine.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Retail Sales.
190.
I am not sure that I understand the Deputy's question but, speaking generally, I would say that the question whether a sale has taken place is decided in the circumstances of each particular case by the provisions of the Sale of Goods Act, 1893, and that my Department have no further function in the matter.
The purpose of my question is because of concern expressed to me by a constituent last Sunday week. He wishes to know if the Department of Industry and Commerce might have inspectors to verify whether or not the sale is bringing about a genuine reduction in retail prices. His allegation was that during the sale certain items he had been waiting to buy increased in price during the sale period. Can the Department take any effective steps to prevent this type of misrepresentation?
There seems to be a genuine misunderstanding here, for which I apologise to the Deputy. The Department seem to have understood the word "sale" as a sale in the sense of a sale of an object, in law—I think that is understandable—whereas he meant those sales which are held by department stores, and so on, and as my answer relates to the legal concept and is no help to the Deputy perhaps he would rephrase the question for another occasion.