Ms Clare McNamara:

We are not doing anything with this Bill to infringe upon traders' rights. We are just strengthening consumers' rights. In my opening statement, I mentioned that we were not infringing upon the way responsible traders behaved towards their consumers because they were already looking after their consumers. Rather, we are trying to take to task the irresponsible traders who do not look after consumers' rights. However, private companies have the right to decide who they trade with in the same way as the consumer does.

The Deputy's example is an unusual one. In the case of an airline, there is strict regulation around the cancellation of flights and consumers' rights. As to an online trader deciding not to trade with someone in future because he or she did a chargeback on a card, I do not see how we could cover such a scenario. However, the Deputy has raised an interesting question and we will consider it during the drafting of the Bill, which is still under way.