Publicans face a High Court action for alleged "concerted" price- fixing for the first time, after the Competition Authority, using its new powers, began proceedings against them.
The authority confirmed yesterday that notice had been given that proceedings would be issued against the Licensed Vintners' Association (LVA), a Dublin-based publicans' group, and the Vintners' Federation of Ireland (VFI) - representing 6,000 pub owners - along with a number of individuals, unless undertakings are made within 28 days.
It is alleged that the publicans, under Section 4 (1) of the 1991 Competition Act, engaged in "concerted practices", which "directly or indirectly fix purchase or selling prices or any other trading conditions". The parties have been notified of the case following an investigation and searches carried out by the Director of Competition Enforcement on the offices of the LVA and VFI within the past year.
Mr Paul O'Grady, past president of the VFI, whose period of office comes within the period of the alleged price-fixing, said the Dublin offices had been investigated last November when some documents were removed. "It is on foot of those receipts that they decided to have a go," he said.
But the claims being made against "the whole trade" were outlandish and amounted to sabre-rattling. "We totally reject any effort to muzzle or gag the trade federations that lead the licensed trade in this country. We would hope to join our colleagues in the LVA in a joint fight . . . we will be delighted to win our case in court," he said.
He added that a pint in Ballsbridge, Dublin, cost £2.40 while in his pub, in Tuam, Co Galway - The Sportsman's Inn - a pint cost £1.95. "We cannot give undertakings when we do not have a uniform price structure in any county in the country."