Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has raised a timely issue, as he noted. Gift vouchers supplied to consumers are subject to the provisions of general consumer protection legislation, in particular, the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 2007 on unfair, misleading and aggressive commercial practices and the provisions of the European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) Regulations 1995, SI 27 of 1995.

Gift vouchers that are not financial services products are also covered by the provisions of the European Union (Consumer Information Cancellation and other Rights) Regulations 2013. Gift cards that come within the definition of electronic money, of the European Communities (Electronic Money) Regulations 2011 are subject to the provisions of these regulations unless the card can be used to acquire goods or services on the premises of the card issuer or within a limited network of services providers or a limited range of goods and services.

The issuer of gift cards that come under the definition of electronic money must, at the request of the electronic money holder, redeem the monetary value of the electronic money - or par value - at any time. Redemption may be subject to a fee in specific circumstances and any such fee must be appropriate and compensate with the costs actually incurred by the issuer of the electronic money. The European Communities (Electronic Money) Regulations 2011 falls under the remit of the Minister for Finance.

My Department published a draft scheme for public consultation of the comprehensive consumer rights Bill on 25 May 2015. In addition to the parts that deal with the consolidation and updating of the new law around the supply of goods, digital content and services and on the unfair contract terms, the draft scheme contains a number of provisions for the regulation of gift vouchers including a proposed ban on expiry dates in contracts for the supply of gift vouchers. The responses to the gift card provisions raised a substantial number of issues, including concerns expressed by businesses about the impact of a complete prohibition on expiry dates and the need for clarity and certainty in respect of the regulation of gift cards that comes within the scope of the European Communities (Electronic Money) Regulations 2011. It is important that we listen to all views and possible approaches to the issue of gift vouchers, including the validity of a set time period.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

While I am anxious to progress the scheme of the consumer rights Bill, I have to take account of current European Union legislative proposals for directives on consumer contracts for the supply of digital content and consumer contracts for the online and other distance sale of goods. These proposals, which were announced in May 2015 and published in December 2015 overlap very substantially with two of the main parts of the draft scheme of the consumer rights Bill. Discussions on the digital content proposal at working party level have proceeded rapidly with a general approach reached at the Justice and Home Affairs Council in June 2017. The proposal will now be considered in a trilogue with the European Parliament later this year. Discussion at Council level on the second proposal on online sales has only just commenced.

In this situation, I have to consider the advisability of bringing forward a legislative proposal to the Oireachtas when a directly related and fully harmonised legislative proposal may be at an advanced stage of the European Union legislative process. The wisdom of introducing legislation in the Oireachtas in 2017, if large parts of that legislation would have to be repealed or substantially amended within a relatively short space of time, is obviously open to question. I will continue to review the progress of the two European Union proposals with a view to deciding the best course of action to take with regard to the scheme of the consumer rights Bill.

I also draw the attention of the Deputy to the very useful information for consumers on the issue of gift vouchers and cards on the CCPC website particularly in the run-up to the Christmas period.

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