Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

The Fine Gael Party will support the Bill on Second Stage but will seek to amend it on later Stages. The Bill is frightfully late and shockingly weak. The national consumer agency has nothing like the powers it needs to protect consumers. The Fine Gael Party has been calling for a strengthened version of the Bill's provisions for over two years.

For the past eight years Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats have played a cruel, laissez-faire game with consumer's rights. They sat back as the economic boom they inherited let rip and every scam artist and rip-off merchant made a mint. Consumers were treated to the highest inflation and prices in Europe with the worst value for money. After years of this hardship, the Government comes up with a new agency.

When Fine Gael attempted to create a consumer rights enforcer through a Private Members' Bill in the Dáil, the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Killeen referred to "comprehensive measures and policies already in place and envisaged, both domestically and internationally, to protect and represent consumer interests" and instructed Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats Deputies to vote down our proposals. I introduced a Private Members' Bill to abolish staged payments, a most unfair practice and contrary to the consumers' interests, but it too was voted down. Staged payments are counter to the EU directive on unfair commercial practices and an existing provision in Irish law, recently brought to my attention.

During the launch of the rip-off Ireland campaign, my fellow Kerryman, the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue, condemned Fine Gael for even raising the issue, asking what rip-off. I am glad he has been shouted down at Cabinet and the Government has started to acknowledge the problem. Senator Leyden claimed that Fine Gael was single-handedly destroying Irish tourism by even mentioning this issue. When we launched the campaign, he asked the Seanad, on 10 November 2004:

Why is Fine Gael trying to jeopardise employment and tourism by discouraging people from visiting Ireland? I have travelled in different parts of Europe and, irrespective of the costs, Ireland is relatively competitive in many areas. This has not been recognised on the Fine Gael Party's website.

The Government is the father of rip-off Ireland. No fewer than 50 stealth taxes have been introduced by the Government since it won the last election. From ESB bills to passport fees, the only way has been up. Ireland has become a consumers' graveyard with annual inflation at its highest level for four years and further electricity price rises on the way. The price increases in the 12 months to December 2006 are the highest for four years. Prices are up 4.9% and the electricity price increase has yet to bite.

A comparison with prices across Europe shows that Irish prices have risen in the past 12 months at a rate 26% faster than in the rest of the euro area. Put simply, Irish price increases in Government-regulated sectors and sheltered service are more than twice that in the rest of Europe. Yet, in contrast, price increases in Irish goods markets have been far slower. These trends are continuing a prevailing pattern making Ireland the dearest country in Europe. This is all as a result of poor public policy promoted by Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats. Goods in our shops have not increased at all in price over that entire period. The prices of services delivered by companies exposed to international competition have actually fallen. Yet prices in sheltered service sectors have grown by 24%. This is the main driver of inflation over the past five years.

While the Bill will establish the national consumer agency on a statutory basis, it has been in a state of semi-existence since last year. The Fine Gael Party has been singularly unimpressed with it. Take for example the strange events surrounding the exit of BUPA Ireland from the health insurance market. That decision highlighted the complete ineptitude and powerlessness of the structures and bodies set up by the Government to protect consumers' interests. It was extraordinary that the national consumer agency and the Competition Authority responded so weakly. The agency's silence was shocking but not surprising. Even the Minister's most enthusiastic supporters could not believe his claims that the agency is more than window-dressing. The Government may think it can substitute the odd radio commercial for a proper consumer policy but consumers, and voters, know differently. They will remind Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats of that.

For the past two years my party has been calling for a consumer rights enforcer with real power to root out blockages to competition and ensure consumers get the fair deal they deserve. Under our proposals, the new body would have the same status as the Ombudsman and would cut the umbilical cord with Departments that represent vested producer interests. The office of the consumer rights enforcer would replace the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs and be a pro-active champion, watchdog, defender and advocate of consumers' rights and interests. A key feature of such an office would be its independence. To be properly effective it would need to be a stand-alone office with its own staff and a secure budget.

Specifically, a consumer rights enforcer would conduct regular price surveys that highlight good value and name and shame those charging excessive prices; create a price league website with tables on all major products; develop codes of conduct for service providers and retailers on issues like passing on exchange rate movements; devise and promote a good practice provider quality mark for suppliers of goods and services that agree to be bound by relevant codes of practice; work with local authorities to drive a pro-consumer agenda at local level involving regular price surveys and measures that protect consumers' interests against local cartels; and represent the consumer in national partnership agreements. It is clear that recent agreements have been dominated by the producers with consumers given little thought. These are the proposals the consumer needs and should be in this Bill. We look forward to the Government including them on Committee Stage.