Alison Healy
Some pubs and entertainment venues displayed "exceptional greed" in hiking prices for New Year's Eve, the Consumers Association of Ireland said yesterday.
One customer told The Irish Times that a Dublin city centre venue imposed a €10 cover charge for New Year's Eve. Once inside, customers were charged €8 for all pints, while shorts were €12. Even the price of a packet of crisps had been rounded up to €1.
Some larger pubs around the State imposed cover charges or operated ticket-only policies on New Year's Eve, with customers paying anything from €5 to €20 to gain entrance. Mr Michael Kilcoyne, Consumers' Association president, said he had already received several complaints from people who felt they had been "ripped off" on New Year's Eve.
He had heard similar reports about Christmas Eve and of hotels overcharging for dinner on Christmas Day.
"People felt that the price of drink and of meals was particularly expensive and I believe the industry has done a lot to damage itself."
Customers would remember being overcharged when they were thinking about future nights out, he said. Mr Kilcoyne asked why people would pay to enter a pub on top of a 300 or 400 per cent mark-up on the price of their drink when they could buy it at cost price in a supermarket and have a house party instead. Mr Paul O'Grady, Galway county officer in the Vintners' Federation of Ireland, said some pubs were taking out exemptions for late-night opening and they had to recoup this outlay in some way.
Some chose to place a premium on the price of drinks after a certain time, while others introduced a cover charge or ticket. However, it was highly unlikely that they would do both, he said.
In addition, music, food or drinks vouchers were provided to compensate for the charge.
A typical cover charge would be €10 in the west of Ireland. "I would say that a maximum of ten per cent of pubs are doing it. It's a city phenomenon." Mr O'Grady said tickets and cover charges could be seen as a "logical response" to the growing trend of people staying at home.
By allocating tickets, customers could be guaranteed admission to a comfortable pub where numbers were controlled and music or food was provided .
Some of the better known pubs in Dublin did not sell tickets or charge entrance fees on New Year's Eve.
Rody Boland's pub in Rathmines received more than 100 calls in the two days before New Year's Eve from customers asking if they could buy a ticket for the night. However, the pub does not sell tickets or charge an entrance fee on New Year's Eve. "People did expect to pay for a ticket or a cover charge and were more than willing to do so," said manager Mr Dara Geraghty.
"It was the busiest night of the year for us and it cost nothing extra." The price of drinks remained the same as any other night.
Messrs Maguires on O'Connell Bridge and the Quays in Temple Bar also avoided imposing cover charges or selling tickets.
The Squealing Pig in Monaghan sold tickets for €7 but this money went to a number of charities.
Johnnie Fox's pub in Glencullen has solved the problem of crowd control and the lack of taxis on New Year's Eve.
It now closes at about 6 p.m. on that day.