asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy if he considers that an anomaly in the prices legislation was disclosed by a recent case (details supplied) in that on a change of ownership of a firm the new owner is not obliged to give advance notice to him of a proposed increase in the charge for a service which had up to then been provided by the previous owner; and if so, if and when he proposes to amend this provision.

The anomaly to which reference is made first came to light in April, 1976, as a result of a legal opinion received by the Department in another case.

I do not at this stage propose to amend the prices' legislation to deal with the anomaly in question, but the question of such an amendment will be borne in mind in relation to any new legislation on price control that might arise later.

As the Deputy is aware, the National Prices Commission considered this particular case and were of the view that the price increase implemented was reasonable.