Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 5: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his views on the implication for tourism of price increases by some public houses and accommodation providers on the weekends of soccer and rugby internationals and on other weekends of public holidays or events, particularly in view of a number of surveys showing that this is a deterrent to tourists returning to Ireland; if he has had discussions with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9237/05]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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Last year, we had a record number of foreign visitors. Visitor attitude surveys continue to record a high level of satisfaction with the overall visitor experience, although there have been significant declines in satisfaction regarding value for money. The Government, the tourism agencies and the industry, by and large, have been addressing this competitiveness challenge. Actions that undermine our efforts in this regard are not welcome.

On the question raised by the Deputy, we live in a free market and traders are, subject to a few exceptions, entitled to charge what they want. The price of drink, for example, is a commercial issue outside my remit. No legislation prevents publicans from increasing their prices prior to or during an event. One statutory instrument that protects consumers, however, is the Retail Price (Beverages in Licensed Premises) Display Order 1999, which obliges all premises, where alcohol is sold, to display the price of alcohol and soft drinks both inside and outside the premises. This gives consumers the information they need to decide whether to accept the prices displayed.

I do not believe in adding to existing regulation. The consumer is the ultimate regulator and consumer power can be influential. The problem is that Ireland tends to have a weak consumer culture. We tend to be reluctant to complain about price, service or quality even when we have legitimate grounds for so doing.

The Director of Consumer Affairs has been proactive on the drinks pricing issue lately. Her office carried out a number of price surveys of pub prices in the past few months with a view to facilitating consumer choice when attending sporting and other events. The results of these surveys are available on the director's website, www.odca.ie. It is encouraging that surveys of prices by the director have shown that the problem of sharp increases in drink prices at the time of these events is not as marked as in previous years. The overall impression from the surveys carried out by the director's office over the past 12 months suggests that the extent of the practice of increasing drink prices around special events may have been exaggerated and it is important for the House to note that.

No legislation governs rates charged by accommodation providers. There is, however, one limit on hoteliers. All hotels must be registered in the register of hotels maintained by Fáilte Ireland. Under the registration system, hoteliers are required to have a notice stating the maximum prices they charge for accommodation and they are not supposed to exceed those prices. If consumers are asked for more than the stated maximum, they should take this up with management. If they find they have paid more and can prove that, they should report the matter to Fáilte Ireland or its agents who can take the matter up with the hotel concerned.

Excessive profiteering around special events may be legal. It may be capable of being rationalised from a narrow, short-term economic perspective. However, this practice by a tiny segment of the trade is not helpful to the reputation of a tourism destination. We only have to think of our own reaction if confronted by these practices at foreign destinations. A few operators might ask themselves whether the short-term profit is worth killing the goose that lays the golden egg. At the same time, however, it is unfair to tar the entire sector with the same brush.

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I have not discussed this issue with my colleague the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment but I have noted that the recent price surveys of the Director of Consumer Affairs, allied to increased consumer vigilance, can have a positive effect. The director said recently, following the latest rugby international in Lansdowne Road:

I am glad to note that only two out of the 26 premises surveyed raised their prices on Saturday for the rugby match. I would regard this a positive response to public awareness.

This is welcome news and confirms my view that the best and ultimate regulator is the consumer.

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I welcome the Minister's reply. I also welcome the survey carried out by the Director of Consumer Affairs because it highlighted that a number of licensed premises in the vicinity of the venues of major events had retained regular prices, probably as a result of public pressure. Despite the success of the director's initiative, headlines such as "Money Mad Culture Turn Off for Thousands of Dutch Tourists" have still appeared in newspapers. This headline will have been reciprocated in Holland. However, the reporter only spoke to four or five tourists, yet a damaging headline, which portrays a money mad culture, was used. What can the Department do to address recent negative publicity, particularly in light of the success of the Director of Consumer Affairs on the drink prices issue? Perhaps we might also see what we can do to rectify the bad media we are getting — the "Battle for Britain" returns. The Minister urged the tourism industry to review its prices. Tourists are rejecting "rip-off Ireland". We could go on, but when one gets into the detail of the reporter's presentation, one finds that we may only be talking about individuals. The entire tourism sector is being branded, although, as the Minister stated, the problem may be limited to a few individuals. What can we do to rectify that? Is there anything within the Minister's remit, that of the Director of Consumer Affairs, or that of another Department? We must do something to alleviate that problem. The reporters want to make something of it, but that is of no benefit to us, since there are no figures in support of the headlines.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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I certainly agree with Deputy Wall that there has been a great deal of very bad publicity that has reflected poorly on the industry at large, especially over the past year or so. Shortly after I entered office, I pointed out that we had a problem with competitiveness and that we would have to address the issue. Various measures to do so have been undertaken since. We now have more special offers in the tourism industry. The Restaurants Association of Ireland and the IHF came forward with a very innovative tourism menu that meant that visitors could obtain lower prices in restaurants at certain times. In fairness, the contribution of the office of the Director of Consumer Affairs has been significant. We should all appreciate that we will not remove the media glare unless the underlying problem is addressed. I agree with Deputy Wall that a small number of people in the drinks, accommodation and food industry are giving the remainder a bad name.

To address that, I was pleased that the Director of Consumer Affairs undertook surveys, for example, last March, in and around Lansdowne Road. He found that six in every ten publicans raised prices during special events and sporting occasions. I was also very pleased to note that the Director of Consumer Affairs subsequently took up the practice of advertising the results. Afterwards, the media comment proved extremely positive for the industry. People became worried that the office of the Director of Consumer Affairs would advertise their practices in the media, and we saw an immediate reluctance to increase prices. The media can do the industry a good service by pointing out where people are engaged in practices that make our economy, and especially our tourism industry, appear unattractive or uncompetitive. Those who increase prices for the sake of the occasion to take advantage of the punter do a grave disservice to the industry and nation at large, and especially their colleagues. It is very important that this House continues to say to all comers that such practices are simply not acceptable and that we will not tolerate them.