Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for his answer. I was not really asking about cross-border trade and disputes but about the existing section 8(3) of the Consumer Protection Act, which provides a mandate for the National Consumer Agency to promote and even establish alternative means of dispute resolution between consumers and, for example, retailers. There are two things that can be done in this regard. Does the Minister of State agree that the upper limit for a small claim, which is €2,000, should be increased? Almost any significant purchase, such as a suite of furniture or a foreign holiday, will be more than €2,000, and if there is a dispute one must then go to a higher court. Does the Minister of State not agree that this threshold should be increased so that consumers who have been ripped off by slightly more than €2,000 can have recourse to the Small Claims Court?

Will the Minister consider asking the National Consumer Agency to introduce a system of dispute resolution and arbitration for consumers, similar to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board? Thus the consumer agency itself could take on the job of arbitrating disputes between consumers and those against whom they are making complaints. This is provided for in the Act; it just requires a bit of leadership to implement it.

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