HOUSEHOLDS can look forward to an average €100 a year saving on their gas bills from October after Bord Gáis revealed plans to cut its prices by almost 10%.

WHEN launching the Big Switch campaign, Bord Gáis had hoped to lure 85,000 customers to its new electricity service in a year — but ended up doing it in just a month.

TRAVEL companies have reported a steady number of new year holiday bookings despite the financial burden facing consumers.

THE main banks and building societies are refusing to say whether customers defaulting on their mortgages can voluntarily surrender their homes rather than endure repossession proceedings in the court.

QUESTIONS were raised last night about a €600,000 taxpayers bill for a “toothless” government agency set up to protect property buyers and owners.

COMMUNICATIONS Minister Eamon Ryan is preparing to curb junk food advertising aimed at children.

The country’s consumer watchdog branded as inadequate refunds by concert promoters MCD for this summer’s washed-out Barbra Streisand concert.

The Taoiseach is seeking a meeting with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and business group IBEC to discuss inflation after the new Government is formed.

HEALTH Minister Mary Harney was accused yesterday of making people more afraid of using the public hospital system so that they would take out private health insurance.

FOOD products from cloned animals are unlikely to end up on supermarket shelves in Ireland, despite new evidence that they are safe for human consumption.

THE Government should refuse a request by CIÉ to raise fares until it improves services for commuters, the head of the Consumers’ Association said last night.

SHOPPERS have been urged to force supermarkets into an all-out price war as the rising cost of living begins to bite hard into household budgets.

The Consumers' Association has called for a "traffic-light" labelling system to be introduced for food in this country, so people can tell at a glance how healthy it is.

Considering all he has done for Ireland, Pope John Paul II deserves a day of mourning, writes Dan Buckley.

Publicans should show some seasonal goodwill and end the post midnight practice of hiking up drink prices in Dublin’s pubs and clubs, according to the Consumers’ Association.

THE charity that provides services for intellectually disabled people in Kerry yesterday firmly rejected a report that it was forced to close one of its 12 centres because of allegedly excessive bank charges.

MOTORISTS were warned yesterday that they face a 4c hike in the cost of a litre of petrol if oil persists at current high levels.

German cars are among the most likely to develop faults or break down, according to a survey of owners published in Britain today.

The Consumers’ Association has reportedly called for a Competition Authority investigation into possible price fixing by supermarkets and pubs in Dublin.

NEARLY eight out of 10 shoppers believe Irish food is too expensive, a survey has revealed.

British supermarkets are padding out raw pork with added water and selling it alongside fresh meat, it emerged today.

The ESB has reportedly applied for a price increase of up to 13% this year.

Up to 20,000 ESB customers are facing massive arrears bills due to an error with their meters.

The fattiest and saltiest ready-made meals were named and shamed in the UK today – with some oozing three times as much fat as their competitors.

The Consumers’ Association has called on publicans to absorb the possible 15c increase in the price of a pint next week.

The Consumers' Association is calling for tighter controls on the way property auctions are carried out.

IT WAS with a sense of déjà vu I read that the Tánaiste, speaking at Davos, announced her intention to “appoint a small group to advise [her] on consumer issues and to provide a national voice for the consumer, independent of vested interests”.

THERE was mixed reaction as Charlie McCreevy yesterday imposed increases to the prices of cigarettes and fuel. Alcohol, already heavily taxed, escaped further rises.

THE failure of banks to pass on European interest rate cuts has cost consumers €1 billion in extra interest charges, the Oireachtas Finance Committee heard yesterday.

DOUBTLESS the country’s 1.7 million PRSI payers will breathe a sigh of relief that the long running dispute between the Government and the Irish Dental Association has at last been settled.

BORD GÁIS has made no apology for applying the increased VAT rate of 13.5%, which was to become effective from January 1, on bills for the November/December period.

British consumer watchdogs today called for an inquiry into a government agency’s handling of a complaint about advertising for a new contraceptive pill.

The Consumers’ Association of Ireland has called on the Tanaiste, Mary Harney, to take action on the rise in Irish retail prices.

Low-cost carrier Ryanair uses airports that are often miles away from the cities they claim to serve, the Consumers’ Association said today.

The British meat industry was today under fire after senior Government scientists complained that manufacturers were stalling BSE research.