Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

Those specific commitments were given in the programme for Government and 15 months later we are still at the stage of evaluation and discussion. This is the fourth time I have raised this question this year — I raised it in February, April, June and now September. When will we actually see this code of conduct? When will the Government treat consumers with the seriousness they deserve? Has there been any discussion with the National Consumer Agency about the content of proposed conduct for the two sectors, retail and health and fitness? For instance, will the code of conduct for the retail sector include a commitment to pass on to consumers savings made by the retailers arising from the variation in currency values? We all know that one of the biggest rip-offs faced by the Irish consumer over the past year has been the failure of major multiples to pass on the benefits of the increase in value of the euro against sterling and the dollar. We all know there are serious concerns about the delays in passing on reductions in the price of oil.

Is the Minister of State aware that many consumers are concerned about gift tokens that are time limited? When a person buys a gift token the store gets the value of the token but the token expires if it is not used within a specific period. Can this issue be accommodated? If a person pays his or her €100 I do not believe a time limit should be imposed and if it is it should certainly be for longer than six months. I hope that matter will be considered in the code of conduct.

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