Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 13 Jun 2000

Vol. 521 No. 1

Written Answers. - Price Controls.

Nora Owen

Ceist:

98 Mrs. Owen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the action she will take with regard to complaints about over-pricing in the drinks sector; and if she has any legislative proposals on this issue. [16624/00]

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Mr. T. Kitt)

The policy on prices followed by this Government, and by all Governments since price controls were abandoned in the 1980s, is that prices should be set by competition in the marketplace.

To ensure that competition operates in the marketplace, the Competition Authority is charged with fostering competition in all sectors of the economy and combating anti-competitive practices. The Tánaiste recently approved five additional posts for the authority – two economists and three lawyers – which will increase the authority's professional staffing level by approximately 70%. This demonstrates the Government's commitment to ensuring that competition law is vigorously enforced and that competition operates to the benefit of consumers. The authority has been active in investigating allegations of anti-competitive practices in the drinks sector and have initiated legal proceedings on foot of their investigations.

Price transparency is also essential if consumers are to be in a position to make informed decisions about purchases. On the specific question of prices in the drinks sector, I took action last year to bring greater transparency to the drinks trade. I made the Retail Price (Beverages in Licensed Premises) Display Order, which requires the display of a 16 item price list immediately outside or immediately inside each entrance to a premises. As a result of this order, consumers are now provided with fair warning of the prices being charged before they enter a premises so that they can take their custom elsewhere if they believe those prices to be unreasonably high.

The order is enforced by the Director of Consumer Affairs, who has the power to prosecute for non-compliance with the order. My information from the director is that she has a systematic enforcement operation under way in relation to the order, and that a number of publicans have received final warnings regarding their non-compliance in advance of a final inspection to determine whether prosecutions should be initiated.