Fine Gael claims some Dublin publicans are marking up the price of soft drinks by as much as 1, 000 per cent.
According to a survey of 47 Dublin city centre pubs carried out on behalf of the party, the difference between the cost price and the price charged for soft drinks ranged from a low of 400 per cent to a high of more than 1,000 per cent.
Fine Gael spokesman on enterprise, trade and employment, Mr Phil Hogan, described the situation as a "disgrace".
The survey found a mineral water and a dash of lime in one city centre pub cost €4.70 - €2.70 for the mineral water and €2 for the lime. The same drink in a pub only a few streets away was €2.
Mr Hogan said: "These prices are incredible. A bottle of mineral water is sold wholesale to a pub for approximately 40c per bottle yet in certain cases the customer is being hit by a 1000% mark up."
"The smallest mark up we could find in the 47 pubs surveyed was a 400 per cent price hike. When it comes to buying soft drinks in Dublin the customer truly is being ripped off," Mr Hogan said.
A spokesperson for the
Licensed Vintners' Association, which represents publicans in Dublin, was unavailable for comment.
