Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the committee for its assistance in bringing the Bill to where we are today. The Consumer Rights Bill is a long and complex piece of legislation that transposes three EU directives and updates existing domestic consumer rights law. The purpose of the Bill is to reform, modernise and consolidate consumer protection legislation by bringing existing provisions together in a single enactment while introducing enhanced consumer protection measures. The Bill will give effect to the following three consumer rights directives: directive 2019/770 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services; directive 2019/771 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods; and the main provisions of directive 2019/2161 on the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules.

This Bill marks an important step forward in consumer protection as it has the safeguarding of consumer rights at its heart. It will be good for traders in that it puts responsible behaviour on a legislative footing and evens the playing field for all, so that traders who do not treat customers fairly and honestly will be held accountable and will not gain an unfair competitive advantage.

Since publication, small errors have emerged, as well as places where more precision or clearer language should be used. The vast majority of Government amendments put forward today are to address these technical issues. It is important we deal with these grammatical, technical and clarifying amendments to ensure the legislation is as accurate and robust as it can be. There are some slightly more substantive amendments being introduced and I will give further explanation of those as we reach them.

I indicated on Second Stage that I would bring forward certain amendments aimed at ensuring the powers of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, and the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, are sufficient for the additional functions they will have as a result of the Bill. I also intend to bring a technical amendment on the definition of "basic rate" in relation to charges for communications by telephone to bring it into line with a ruling of the European Court of Justice. As these amendments require further development, I put it on notice that I intend to bring them forward on Report Stage.

I also stated on Second Stage that I would bring forward an amendment to section 459 of the Companies Act 2014. However, this amendment is still being finalised. It is therefore my intention to bring forward this amendment on Report Stage. The purpose of the amendment will be to clarify the role of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when holding on trust the unclaimed properties of dissenting shareholders who have not sought to claim the properties in the seven years following an acquisition.