The Consumers' Association of Ireland has welcomed the decision of a publican in Cork city to reduce soft drinks prices by 25 per cent from next week but said the aim of all publicans should be to keep prices at a reasonable level.
The Bodega Bar on Cornmarket Street in Cork announced today it will cut the prices of all soft drinks, juices and mixers by 25 per cent from Monday.
Mr Conrad Howard, operations manager of The Bodega, said the pub had also absorbed the recent price increases by breweries and did not pass them on to its customers.
He said the pub was announcing the move as it recorded a strong increase in year-on-year sales, "bucking the national trend in this regard".
The pub and restaurant is owned by the same company that owns the Globe and Cafe Bar Deli in Dublin.
"This course of action ensures that The Bodega continues to be a market leader within the industry," said Mr Howard.
He told ireland.comthe move was not prompted by a fall in bar business since the smoking ban was introduced earlier this year.
He said that on the contrary, people were dining out more since the smoking ban's introduction and the restaurant business at The Bodega had increased.
The Chief Executive of the Consumers Association, Dermott Jewell
Mr Dermott Jewell, chief executive of the Consumers' Association, noted the Beverage Council of Ireland had said prices of soft drinks were "extortionately high". But he welcomed the fact that "somebody is making a move to bring them down" and hoped others would follow.
"It's acknowledged by many and it's been stated by a considerable number of visitors that they find drink prices here excessive," he said.
"It's a step in the right direction."
Mr Jewell said that provided the Bodega's ultimate aim was, as it stated, value for money for customers, he welcomed the fact that it was reducing prices and he hoped the ultimate aim would be to reduce all drink prices and to keep them at a reasonable level.