Dublin pubs accused of increasing prices as Ireland took on Scotland in pursuit of the Triple Crown.
Some pub owners have been accused of lining their pockets by jacking up the price of a pint during the Triple Crown match last Saturday.
Outside of Lansdowne Road, the local pubs in Dublin 4 are arguably the best place to be for a rugby international.
Inspectors found that six local pubs had increased their prices for the big day. These include Doheny & Nesbitt's, Maguire's, Larry Murphy's, The Waterloo, The Wellington and The 51 Bar. It was found that these pubs all increased their displayed prices, in some cases by as much as one euro a pint.
The Director of Consumer Affairs, Carmel Foley, criticised a number of pubs in Dublin for their price increases for last Saturday's Triple Crown clash
They were taking advantage of the fact that people were going to be crowding in, not looking at their change, not even knowing what the price was properly in the case of the Scottish supporters. How would they know what's a normal price or a fair price?
Ted O'Sullivan, owner of Maguire's pub, disputes the report's findings and says that his pub has the cheapest drink on Baggot Street.
We have the till rolls to prove that we did not charge €4.90 for a pint on Saturday.
Christy Holbrook, manager at The Waterloo, maintains that the price increase was necessary to cover additional costs for cleaning and repairs following the match.
While they are accused of inflating the prices, none of the pubs were breaking the law as they displayed correctly the prices being charged.
Minister for Tourism John O'Donoghue condemned the price increases as short-sighted and reckless. The actions of the pubs could undermine efforts to promote Ireland as a value for money destination. It is unlikely there will be any government intervention with the Tánaiste Mary Harney saying that price controls do not work and it is up to consumers to shop around.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 1 April 2004. The reporter is John O'Driscoll.
