Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the Bill. I welcome the Minister's presence in the Chamber. I welcome the Bill as part of the Government's programme to reform State agencies and to merge those deemed suitable to be merged, leading to better value for the consumer and the taxpayer.

However, it is important that we evaluate what the Bill will do for the consumer.

Consumer protection is defined as a group of laws and organisations designed to ensure the rights of consumers, fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent businesses that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competitors. They may also provide additional protections for the weak and those unable to take care of themselves. Consumer protection laws are a form of Government regulation that aim to protect the rights of consumers. For example, a Government may require businesses to disclose detailed information about products, particularly where safety or public health is an issue, for example, in the case of food.

Consumer protection is linked to the idea of consumer rights and to the formation of consumer organisations that help consumers to make better choices in the marketplace and to get help with their complaints. Our membership of the EU has improved much of our consumer protection legislation. This Bill has been in the ether for some time, having been announced in the 2009 budget. Since it is highly technical and detailed legislation, it has taken this long to be produced. It must be noted that different forms of competition legislation have evolved and matured.

The Bill addresses three broad areas. First, it amalgamates two agencies. With few exceptions, this move has been met with broad approval from some of the key stakeholders involved in consumer protection and competition. I look forward to reading Mr. Eddie Hobbs’s book some day. It might be interesting, but he has misread this situation as a money-saving exercise. Rather, it is concerned with providing a better and more efficient regulatory competition regime and protection to consumers.

I welcome the Bill’s provisions under which the new commission will play an important role in co-operating with other regulatory authorities, for example, ComReg, the aviation regulatory authorities, the health insurance authorities and others, to provide better services for consumers and citizens and a level playing field for industry leaders and those trying to get involved in the industry.

We already have various pieces of primary legislation. It has been well noted that we are reasonably quick to adapt primary legislation to address new pressures or issues arising in the marketplace that have adversely affected consumers, producers, industry etc. This Bill is a significant milestone in consumer and competition legislation.

Section 4 on media mergers is particularly important. The 50 jobs that will be lost in the Irish Examinerunder Landmark Holdings should be noted. It is a difficult day for those involved, but it highlights one of the issues facing the print media in the modern age, namely, technology that puts the news at almost everyone’s fingertips. Media, particularly print media, is finding it difficult to evolve into something that allows it to maintain its relevance. The response to this challenge seems to be consolidations, acquisitions and mergers and less plurality of ownership and content. This matter must be addressed. We all have different opinions on it, but every Deputy has a significant interest in current affairs. We might believe everything stops and finishes at that. What is happening is not a new phenomenon, but it has gained pace in recent years and should give us cause for concern. We should reflect on how our society can be better served by a media that is more diverse in ownership, points of view, content etc. I am not just referring to public affairs, but also to the niche interests that many of our citizens have come to enjoy. Often, those interests are lost in media mergers and acquisitions and, perversely, people who look to the media for such content find that, in a world where there is better technology and access to information, the quality of that information is sometimes less than appreciated. We require balanced legislation to deal with media consolidations.

I will focus on consumer protection. It is an issue that continuously comes to the fore in a myriad of industries. Deputy Doyle’s agriculture committee produced a fine report on the groceries order. This problem, which has arisen in the past year or two, is addressed in the Bill. I look forward to further discussions on how the consumer can be protected in the long term by provisions such as those outlined herein.

Recently, a household pack of vegetables sold for 5, 6 or 8 cent or whatever the case may have been. While there are short-term gains for the consumer in such practices, they are unsustainable in the medium to long term. They will not work for the consumer. For the producer, they are a disaster. We must provide the new commission with the teeth to investigate how such behaviour affects the marketplace. I support open and fair competition in the marketplace irrespective of which industry is involved, but short-term gains of the type described can be detrimental to the producer, the retailer and the consumer in the long term.

The new commission should investigate the difficulties being experienced by the on and off trades in the drinks industry in terms of the regulatory framework and consumer protection. There is much work to be done in that regard.

As a result of this Bill, I look forward to having a greater level of public naming and shaming of market players who do not conform with the legislation when enacted. Across the water, there is considerable interest in consumer protection programmes on television. They make for riveting viewing and comprise a further element of consumer protection. Including a provision in the Bill on naming and shaming after its enactment would be attractive.

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