No sanction against businesses which profit from euro change

Businesses which use the uncertainty of the six-week euro changeover period next year as an excuse to inflate prices will not face legal sanctions, the Director of Consumer Affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, has admitted.

Ms Foley said that, while her office would not hesitate to "name and shame" traders who used inaccurate conversion rates in their euro pricing, it had no powers to stop traders from using the euro changeover to raise prices unjustifiably.

She was addressing the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance and the Public Service. Members suggested that unscrupulous traders wishing to unfairly inflate prices were likely to increase prices well in advance of the official changeover. This would avoid unwanted attention in the early months of 2002.

One member used the example of a drinks-vending machine in his local gym, where prices had recently increased from 50p to 70p. He would not be surprised, he told the committee, to see that 70p converted into #1 as soon as January 1st came along. This would translate into inflation of more than 50 per cent in under six months.

Ms Foley said that while she had no power to stop such price increases, she was hopeful that the euro's introduction would not be the catalyst. She admitted that consumers were not as "price-aware" as they could be. "We don't have aggressive consumers in Ireland," she said.

Her office has been encouraging retailers to sign a voluntary code of practice on the euro changeover which commits them to a range of dual pricing measures from October 1st this year. Traders who do not sign the code are essentially free to proceed with the changeover as they wish.

According to a survey issued by her office yesterday, dual pricing displays are still the exception rather than the norm. Apart from large supermarkets, where 97 per cent of outlets surveyed had dual prices on display, results were not encouraging. Just 16 per cent of the 100 restaurants surveyed had dual pricing on general display, while hairdressers were even less euro-conscious, registering just 9 per cent.

Ms Foley expressed optimism that such figures would increase before the official euro changeover day on January 1st.