Dunnes Stores has been prosecuted for failing to display prices on a number of grocery items.
Dunnes pleaded guilty to 15 separate counts of failing to display the selling and unit price of a number of grocery items at its store in the Pavilion Shopping Centre, Swords, Co Dublin.
The offences occurred on November 30th, 2005 and January 5th, 2006.
Ann Fitzgerald, who is the director of Consumer Affairs and chairman of the National Consumer Agency, brought the prosecution under the Product Prices Regulations 2002.
Dunnes was convicted in Dublin District Court in respect of 11 counts and the company was fined €350 on each count, totalling €3,850. Costs of €1,210 were also awarded.
Ms Fitzgerald welcomed the outcome of the prosecution and said the Director of Consumer Affairs enforcement inspectors had spent considerable time in repeated visits to individual traders in an effort to encourage them to comply with the law before taking a prosecution.
"That policy will change as part of a more robust approach to the enforcement of consumer legislation," she warned.
Traders had to be responsible for their own compliance with consumer legislation or face prosecution. Non-compliant traders did their customers a disservice. It was not acceptable that they caused an unlevel playing field by avoiding the compliance costs which law-abiding businesses incurred, Ms Fitzgerald said.
The director added: "Retailers are depending on consumers to remain in business. They should, therefore, recognise that they have a duty of care to their customers by displaying the prices of the goods on sale in their stores."
Last December, Dunnes pleaded guilty to 10 counts of failing to display prices of grocery products at their Swords, South Great Georges Street and North Earl Street branches.
The company also pleaded guilty to a breach of the Consumer Information Act 1978 (misleading indication of prices). The summonses were struck out in the District Court after it received proof that Dunnes had made a payment of €10,000 to the Alone charity.