Pubs without price lists to be prosecuted

A FRESH round of prosecutions has been ordered for a number of pubs accused of persistently failing to display price lists.

The prosecutions have been ordered following spot checks which found a majority of licensed premises failed to comply with the regulations until they were caught out.

Director of Consumer Affairs Carmel Foley said yesterday she had identified 10 unnamed pubs in Limerick, Waterford, Dublin, Wicklow, Galway and Tipperary which she was preparing to take to court under the Retail Price (Beverages in Licensed Premises) Display Order.

If convicted they face modest fines. Sixteen premises prosecuted in the last few years were each fined around 127 each. But guilty parties also acquire the notoriety of failing to engage in fair play practices for customers, who are supposed to be able to inspect the price list before reaching the counter.

The planned prosecutions centre on repeat offenders, but the checks carried out by Ms Foley’s office between September and November this year revealed widespread flouting of the regulations which was only rectified when the breaches were pointed out.

A total of 233 premises were visited around the country, 110 (47%) of them in Dublin and 123 (53%) in the rest of the country.

More than two-thirds (68%) were found either to have no price list on display or else not to have one displayed outside or immediately inside the entrance as the 1999 regulations require.

Breaches were more common outside of Dublin where 86 (70%) and hotels were not in compliance, while the same was true for 70 (64%) of the Dublin premises.

Follow-up checks found most of the premises caught out had put their house in order but Ms Foley said the overall level of voluntary compliance was “unacceptable” and she urged the public to help keep the pressure on publicans by reporting breaches in confidence to her office.

“I wonder what part of ‘price list’ these publicans don’t understand. It is a very minimal requirement and it is treating customers with contempt not to comply with it,” she said.

Ms Foley said her inspectors would follow up all complaints. “Co-operation between the public and my office is the best way to ensure maximum compliance with the order. This will result in a better deal for consumers.”