Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill, particularly with regard to buying online and clarifying one's rights as a consumer. However, who will protect the consumer against the Minister of State and the Government? I will outline a small issue I have. Due to the shortage of vehicles in this country, dealerships have to go to the UK and other countries to import cars because the people want to do their bit for the environment. I will take the example of a €22,000 vehicle in the UK, such as a 2018 Volkswagen Passat. Can the Minister of State tell the consumer how much tax the Government takes on the vehicle? It is €5,700 in vehicle registration tax. On top of that, the Government takes VAT. The consumer needs to be protected against the Minister of State and his Government and the amount of tax they take on vehicles when people have no alternative but to drive cars. It is one thing that we are protecting people online, but we also have to provide protections to protect them against the high rates of taxes that the Government is putting on people who are trying to survive and make a difference in this country and who are trying to do the right thing by upgrading their vehicle to a lower-emission vehicle. What does the Government do? It takes almost €9,000 on a €22,000 vehicle. Who is going to protect the consumer from the Government?

I understand the Bill will be especially helpful to SMEs when they purchase goods and services across the EU. It will also help them as they will be able to supply digital services to their consumers without fear when it comes to legal contracts. The rights of a consumer are addressed in the legislation by ensuring that goods conform with the sales contract. I also see that the buyer is protected if the product purchased has full title and is not encumbered in any way. That relates particularly to property and land. I am also glad that the legislation covers after-sale services and availability of spare parts.

We have to look at the tax regime in this country. We must examine how we can lower the living costs so that people can survive. We spoke earlier about wage increases. Regardless of what wage increases are given, it will only drive inflation because businesses cannot sustain what is happening. Consumers are being charged more because of all the taxes that are imposed on suppliers. The suppliers add that onto their price as a running cost, which the consumer pays. I return to my question: who is going to protect consumers in this country from the Government when they are trying to do the right thing?

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