The supermarket system of pricing on the shelf rather than on the product has been attacked by the director of consumer affairs in the Irish Republic, Carmel Foley. The system was not to the advantage of consumers. "How many people check each price on the shelf tag?" she asked. "How many would have the time to check it?" Foley said the system was allowed to continue because of what she called "acceptance by inertia". Irish Consumers' Association chairman Michael Kilcoyne said: "Foley should call in the multiples and tell them she wants a system that is more transparent and more helpful to consumers." However, a supermarket spokesman insisted that what Foley seemed to be suggesting "would put the clock back 25 years". He added: "We had this debate when scanning was introduced." {{NEWS }}