Results 47,781-47,800 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: In the case of a criminal investigation——

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: ——if evidence was inadvertently leaked to the complainant which found its way back to the person being pursued the investigation could simply be terminated there and then. That is the problem. I know that is not the Senator's intention.

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: However, it could be the effect of the inclusion of this amendment. We might consider the Senator's proposal in general terms. It is not our intention that there should be no communication with the complainant. We might discuss this with the authority, which would have experience of pursuing complaints to establish if there is a mechanism by which certain milestones could be articulated to...

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: This is a technical amendment. The Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel has advised that the words "of the Industrial Development Act 1993" should be deleted because they are unnecessary.

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: We indicated on Second Stage and in public commentary that we would consider the issue being addressed in this amendment and introduce an amendment on Committee Stage. The Casual Trading Act 1995 requires those engaging in casual trading to hold a licence granted for that purpose by the local authority in the area where the trader operates. When the Competition Authority and the Consumer...

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: As I mentioned earlier, some of the amendments I have agreed to consider will be dealt with in the Dáil. I will return to the Seanad to update it on what has been agreed in the Dáil. The sale of cars on roadsides is essentially a matter for the local authorities in the first instance. The Garda has a specific role in implementing the Road Traffic Acts if road safety issues arise in this...

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: It is not beyond our capacity to ensure that the guidelines reflect the issues which have been raised by Senator Leyden.

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: We are trying to provide for uniformity throughout the country.

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: The amendment seeks to close off a possible loophole in the Bill as it applies to pyramid schemes. The original wording, "any service or facility provided in the course of a trade, business or profession", might have proved problematic in the context of schemes. As pyramid schemes are unlawful, there can be no legitimate trade, business or professional pyramid scheme promoter or operator....

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: This is a technical amendment. It substitutes the verb for the noun form in the elaboration of the definition of supply in paragraphs (a) and (b). First, this is more appropriate and more consistent with the approach taken to comparable definitions in the section. Second, it deletes the words "or inviting an offer to purchase" in paragraph (b). These had the potential to cause confusion...

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: The background to the amendment to section 2(5) is intended to clarify that the provisions of Part 3 of the Bill on unfair, misleading, aggressive and prohibited commercial practices apply to commercial practices relating to the hallmarking of articles of precious metal. Article 3.10 of the unfair commercial practices directive states, "This Directive shall not apply to the application of the...

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: Section 20(5)(b) of the National Standards Authority of Ireland Act 1996 states that the standard mark issued by the National Standards Authority of Ireland is a trade mark for the purposes of the Merchandise Marks Acts 1887 to 1978 and the Trade Marks Act 1996. The provisions of the Merchandise Marks Acts relating to the protection of trade marks have long since been superseded by the Trade...

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: These were anti-competitive measures that could facilitate the fixing of prices. Therefore, their removal is important.

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: In general, anything that endeavoured to control prices is being removed. The Bill repeals the type of price controls we had in the 1970s and 1980s because price control does not work, but gives rise to certain unacceptable practices.

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: The scope of the unfair commercial practices directive, on which Part 3 is based, is restricted to business to consumer commercial practices. It differs in this respect from older domestic legislation, such as the Merchandise Marks Act 1887, which applies to all commercial transactions, business to business as well as business to consumer. This reflects the fact that consumer protection was...

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: These are technical amendments to clarify that the reference to "Acts" in section 35(5) is to Acts of the Oireachtas and the reference to "Act" in section 37(3) is to an Act as defined in the Interpretation Act 2005. Both amendments are proposed on the advice of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel.

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: There are references in a number of other Acts and statutory instruments to the Director of Consumer Affairs or the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs which would require amendment to take account of the fact that the director and the office are to be replaced by the National Consumer Agency. These amendments are set out in the proposed new Schedule 3 while the new section 40...

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: The provisions of the unfair commercial practices directive, to which sections 40(2)(b)(i) and 50(1)(a) give effect, do not include the word "trader's" before "product". These amendments propose the deletion of the word from each of the subsections. Therefore, we intend to delete "trader's product" and substitute "product concerned". The product in a consumer transaction is not always the...

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: The amendments to section 45(3)(a) and section 45(5) are proposed in order to align these provisions more closely with the corresponding provisions of the unfair commercial practices directive. Article 7(4)(a) of the directive places the words "to an extent appropriate to the medium and the product" directly after the words "the main characteristics of the product". This is what is proposed...

Seanad: Consumer Protection Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Micheál Martin: I thank Senator Cox for tabling this amendment. I pay tribute to her for her perseverance and pursuance of the issue. She has pursued me around the House and at parliamentary party meetings for about six months on this issue.