Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

It is encouraging to hear the Minister will undertake this major reform and intends to produce legislation to this effect. Will the Minister give the House an indication of the timescale involved? Dáil Deputies hear complaints from people about this issue and it would be helpful to be able to assure people that legislation is being developed. I hope it is not in the dim and distant future. The issue needs to be addressed and consumer protection is becoming more important in the type of economy we now have. Will the Minister assure the House that the proposed legislation will deal with the specific issue of making the distinction between gross negligence and simple negligence in a consumer friendly way?

See this speech in context