Two pubs are about to be prosecuted for allegedly "watering down" vodka for their customers, it emerged yesterday.
The prosecutions are being taken by the office of the director of consumer affairs, which dispatched inspectors to the pubs in response to complaints from customers.
The inspectors ordered vodka at the pubs, one of which is in the Dublin area and one in Galway, and then, rather than drinking it, took it away for analysis.
The director of consumer affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, said samples of the suspect drinks were sent to the State laboratory for analysis. The analysis showed that the percentage of alcohol in the suspect drinks "differed significantly" from the alcoholic strength indicated on the bottle.
Ms Foley confirmed there was an increase in the number of complaints the office received last year concerning the alleged adulteration of spirits.
Her office's investigation into the watering-down of the spirits was just one of 1,900 investigations carried out last year, according to its annual report for 2001 published yesterday.
Ms Foley said the office warned a number of airlines, "both Irish and non-Irish", about misleading advertisements during the year, and its investigations into whether or not prosecutions should be brought are continuing.
Her report said successful prosecutions were taken in 24 cases, eight of which related to breaches of food-labelling regulations. The product was bacon, which in some instances did not have a "best before" or "use by" date.
The businesses convicted included service stations and supermarkets in Galway, Cork, Wexford, Waterford, Wicklow and Offaly.
Seven licensed premises in Dublin, Sligo and Donegal were also successfully prosecuted for failing to display prices.
Another complaint successfully dealt with related to a second-hand car bought by a consumer in Kilkenny in which the mileage had been "clocked".
The car, the report said, was bought in Co Offaly in February 1999 and after seven months began to develop persistent engine problems.
The owner had the car checked by his own mechanic who discovered the mileage had been tampered with and that the clock should have read over 200,000 miles rather than the 136,000 which was on it when he bought it.
An inspector from the office visited the garage, and the company agreed to replace the engine at no cost to the complainant. The garage also then gave the customer a one-year warranty.
The office also dealt with a case in which a company wanted to charge a customer £100 for a replacement washing machine after the person's own machine broke down while under warranty.
After the intervention of the office the manufacturer relented and made the replacement free of charge.