Watchdog to keep a close eye on Waterford’s prices

WATERFORD’S very own price watchdog said she will be keeping a close eye on publicans and restaurateurs ensuring nobody tries to rip anyone off during the Tall Ships Race.

Maria O’Grady launched a price-watch campaign over a year ago when she was asked to pay e6 for a quarter bottle of wine in a pub in the city. Since then, she has been monitoring prices right across the city and the price of small bottles has dropped in pubs in the area to as little as €4.20. She attributes at least a portion of price decrease to her campaign and the public’s awareness of such a charge.

The mother-of-one has noted prices in pubs and restaurants in the city over the past week and said she will be going back again during the Tall Ships Race to see if prices have been hiked to take advantage of the influx of tourists for the major international event.

“I’ve called to several pubs and I’ve been assured in all of them that prices will not be put up over the next week. One proprietor actually told me that nearly all premises put up their prices in June for the summer season.

“But because of the Tall Ships next week they won’t be doing it this time.

“Obviously, pubs and restaurants are afraid that people will accuse them of putting up prices to cash in on this big event. I sincerely hope nobody will try to do that but just in case, I just want to tell them now that I will be keeping a close eye,” she said.

Prices in pubs, restaurants or clothes shops, have to be displayed clearly and accurately and must in no way cause confusion to consumers, according to the Sale of Goods Act legislation, she said.

She said that everybody had heard about Minister Micheál Martin announcing the establishment of a new National Consumer Agency recently which was intended to bring an end to Ireland’s Rip-off culture.

Ms O’Grady worked for 22 years at Waterford Crystal before leaving in the past few months.

The consumer campaign takes up quite a lot of her time, but others are now following her in her voluntary pursuit of fair play.

“People are now walking up to me in the street and asking me to investigate various price variations - one woman walked up to me the other day complaining about the price of Irish dancing dresses.”