Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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8. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the regulatory regime pertaining to the issue of expiry dates on vouchers. [49598/17]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister address the complete lack of regulation in respect of retail gift vouchers? This is an issue of particular concern as we approach the Christmas season, which is a high business turnover period for retailers. It is estimated that up to €300 million is spent on gift vouchers every year but there is absolutely no regulation of their usage.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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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.

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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.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I am sure that the Minister of State, and everyone in the House, will agree that the complete lack of regulation of gift vouchers is being exploited by many. Consumers are being severely and negatively impacted. Many people who are in receipt of vouchers and gift vouchers are children, especially at Christmas time. When they go to use the vouchers to make a purchase with them, often they suffer a loss and huge disappointment. It is high time that something concrete was put in place in this regard. Fianna Fáil is publishing a Bill next week to deal with the matter. If it comes before the House we hope that the Minister of State will support it.

The Minister of State, Deputy Breen has made reference to what he is trying to achieve within his Department. Perhaps the Minister of State will specify what the consumer rights Bill will do in respect of time limits, discounting and the loss of vouchers. It is a big issue and it has been brought to our attention. People lose their vouchers from time to time and when they seek to recover or acquire a replacement voucher they are met with stonewalling from many retailers.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has outlined that this is the time of year when people get a lot of gift vouchers, especially children. As politicians, the best advice we should give to consumers who buy or receive gift vouchers is to ensure that the vouchers are used as quickly as possible. This is also important. People have a tendency to lose them, leave them in a drawer or let them go out of date. That is the best advice we can give at this stage. The consumer rights Bill, published in 2015, contained a set of provisions for the regulation of gift vouchers. We must also bear in mind the European Communities regulations. We want to listen to all of the views possible on the area of the validity of these gift cards. I am anxious to progress the scheme under the consumer rights Bill but we have to also take in to account the European Union legislative proposals for the directive on consumer contracts for the supply of digital content and consumer contracts for online services and other digital sales of goods. In this situation I say to the Deputy that we will take all views on board and listen to all sides here. We have the draft consumer rights Bill and obviously we want to be balanced to ensure we have the rights of the customers and businesses.