Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Indeed I will, a Cheann Comhairle. I enjoyed some of Deputy O'Dea's prescient remarks. As the Minister of State outlined, this Bill will transpose two directives, namely, the digital content directive and the sale of goods directive, which relate to contracts for the sale of goods and contracts for the supply of digital content and services. It also transposes elements of a third directive, namely, the omnibus directive that relates to better enforcement and modernisation of EU consumer protection rules. The Minister of State outlined his hopes that these provisions will provide a more modern legislative framework that will create clearer rules for business and bring about substantial improvements for customers. Once enacted, the Bill will strengthen the protections for consumers provided by the CCPC and ComReg by creating clearer rules for businesses and ensuring the market works fairly and effectively for both consumers and traders.

Like many others, I welcome the additional consumer protections and remedies the Minister of State has outlined in the Bill, particularly the provision for a price reduction on faulty goods and flawed services. It is long past time that consumers would be entitled to withhold payment for goods or services that have been partially paid for if they are not satisfied with the quality of the item or service received. It is important that the Bill stipulates that any form of redress must be free of charge and must be carried out as soon as possible. Of course, the question then arises as to the whole issue of enforcement.

The Minister of State outlined that there will be new protections for consumers in regard to digital content. As we all know, the Internet already is the global marketplace. It is becoming a marketplace for consumers of all ages, many of whom are easily exploited by unscrupulous sellers. In areas such as audio and video files, computer games, digital streaming services and social media, consumers are open to unfair and substandard sales services. I have a question as to the degree to which this legislation will be able to target international media providers and possibly their Irish subsidiaries. That will remain to be seen as the Bill is enacted and rolled out.

Under new digital rights, there is a right to obtain a full refund, exchange or repair where a good or service is not as described and is not fit for purpose. Unfortunately, I would say that happens quite a lot with Internet purchases. Consumers will be entitled to any required upgrades to the product or service, free of charge, to ensure it continues to work as expected and agreed. Will the legislation pertain solely to Irish purveyors on the Internet and, if not, how does the Minister of State intend to enforce its provisions on foreign companies?

I welcome the blacklist of contract terms and conditions that are automatically deemed to be unfair and which I agree should not be included in any consumer contract. Clearly outlining what is legally binding on a buyer and seller is a transparent right but one that often does not apply. The provision that neither party can change the terms of the contract is welcome. In this instance, it is usually assumed that it would be the merchandising party who might do so. There is a requirement for the proper representation of product, which is difficult, and full transparency regarding final taxes and charges. I would point out that where people are buying online, even through An Post, they often find that subsequent taxes and charges are notified to them of which they were not made aware when they made the purchase.

The Minister of State outlined that the Bill gives extra enforcement powers to the CCPC, which is the body responsible for enforcing consumer law in Ireland. These powers will mean that where traders engage in misleading and aggressive commercial practices, such as posting fake news, or where they do not provide the remedies or reimbursements consumers are entitled to, the CCPC may take such action and compliance measures as going to the Circuit Court or the High Court and requesting declarations or injunctions.

How is all this activity to be audited? As I think has been asked already, what is the methodology to trigger this? What resources will the Department give to the CCPC? We had the CCPC before the enterprise committee some weeks ago. One of the main issues that arose at that committee meeting was that that body is already significantly weighed down with work. With the best will in the world, I am not sure it will be able to take this on without significant additional resources.

The Minister of State outlined extra enforcement powers for ComReg in respect of electronic communication services and premium-rate services and for the Central Bank in respect of financial resources. Again, what auditing has the Department done in respect of the Central Bank? The Minister of State said the Department has had wide, robust and productive engagement but I am not sure he outlined exactly what the situation is with that. It is possibly he will do that yet.

As for ComReg, I will outline something that happened to me relatively recently. I got a bill for €900 for a mobile phone in the name of my daughter. It was with one of our main providers in Ireland. Obviously, she had not calculated or known she had been running up such a bill. I got in touch with the company concerned and was told that she had unwittingly clicked on a competition which ran for a month and ergo would cost €900. I did not go to ComReg but I took it up with the company concerned. It was very difficult. I would not like to be an average Joe trying to do it. Eventually, I had to settle for half and I paid €450. The company left me in no doubt that, legally, I did not have a leg to stand on. Again, where will the law sit in that regard?

Another thing I will ask the Minister of State about is part exchange, which is now becoming a feature in business. We have been aware of it for a long time in the context of the motor trade. It is also happening in gaming and computer games and even bringing in computer peripherals to exchange them against something else. Sometimes it is a case of buyer beware, as much as we might like to think it is not, and we might like to think this consumer legislation will cover that. One of the interesting transactions that happen in the motor trade is the trading in of cars. There are two exchanges going on. You do not trade in the car. In law, you sell it to the dealership and give an undertaking to the dealer as to the car's quality, what you understand its condition to be, the fact that it has not been crashed and the fact that the mileage is, as best you know, accurate. This has led to many people getting caught out. Sometimes people in the motor trade get caught out and unwittingly sell on a car which turns out to have a significant history. Is there anything in this new Bill the Minister of State proposes to tighten up some of that? Sometimes those who sell merchandise need to be protected in that situation also.

Overall, I welcome the Bill. As I said, we discussed it in the enterprise committee. As Members said, the Minister of State's office and Department have done a great deal of work on this. It is to be hoped it will tighten up a lot of things and give better protections. I have concerns about Internet sales and how we will manage to police them where the companies are resident outside of this State, but maybe there is no simple answer to that, or maybe the answer is just to shop at home, where people have consumer rights and can have them enforced in the courts or legally through other areas. We wish the Minister of State the best of luck and look forward to the his amendments.

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