Wholesale prices for nonalcoholic beverages, checked by the Sunday Tribune, such as Lucozade and Red Bull work out at approximately 40 cent and 85 cent respectively.

The over-the-counter pub price runs at five or six times greater, at 2.40 and 4.

Meanwhile some Dublin pubs charge 1.60 for a dash of mixer, such as blackcurrant, from a bottle that costs just 80 cent.

One Dublin publican told the Sunday Tribune that he could make over 15 from the 80 cent bottle of mixer before expenses.

A keg of Guinness typically costs publicans 140, who can sell 90 pints from it at under 4, bringing in 350, leaving a mark-up of over 200%.

While the Licensed Vintners Association was unavailable for comment when asked about the markup, a spokesperson for the Vintners Federation of Ireland said that tax on softdrinks were part of the reason.

"A key factor for the difference in price is due to the high VAT rate in Ireland which is 21% compared to 17% in UK, " he said.

They added that soft drinks are only worth about 4-5% of a rural publican's turnover but were not in a position to explain the difference in the mark up.

The Consumer Association of Ireland has criticised the bar trade describing its pricing structure as "unrealistic".

"Everybody has the right to make money and there should be certain level, " said CAI chief executive Dermot Jewell.

"Soft drink prices seem to have been increased whenever a tax was added alcohol.

"That makes the pricing structure outrageous and fairly unrealistic.

"The industry itself promised to address this in the past but it's not surprising that it hasn't."