Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the legislation and the efforts of the Labour Party to bring an end to what I would deem to be an unfair commercial anomaly. I very much agree with what has been said by the previous speaker, Senator Callely. Even though I may not have the option of being here because I am substituting for Senator John Paul Phelan and I must revert to another meeting, I look forward to learning of the Minister of State's response.

This is the type of initiative brought forward by Opposition Senators which should be taken on board by the Government. I can see no reason we would not be in a position to make this minor amendment.

It is an appropriate day to hold this debate. In the other House this afternoon the Minister for Finance had to introduce a Budget Statement to try to deal with the economic crisis in the country. We could debate forever what and who caused the problem and what needs to be done to redress the economic situation facing us, but certainly one of the clear matters of concern to the body politic is the lack of competitiveness in the economy. Obviously, that lack of competitiveness has led to job losses, taxation and revenue reductions. Some of that competitiveness has been lost because of excessive regulation, bureaucracy and red tape. This case, where we are talking about the limit being placed on a gift voucher, is part of that same cycle of commercial bureaucracy and retailers using their financial power to extract the last drop from the consumer. If we are to attempt to turn the economy around and generate trade, income, wealth, profit, jobs and taxes, we must simply shred every last vestige of restrictive practice, and this is one of them. I concede that it is probably not the biggest issue facing the Minister of State's Department. Notwithstanding that, however, a solution for it has been designed and presented to us, which we should accept. There is no genuine reason gift vouchers should only have a three, six or 12-month shelf life. Therefore the proposed amendment to the Consumer Protection Act is realistic, workable and worthy of support. Previous speakers have highlighted cases whereby people receive gift vouchers and put them away for later use. To their great disappointment and financial upset, however, they may find that the voucher has expired. If the small print had been read with a magnifying glass, they would have seen the expiry date. We are trying to generate trade and growth in the economy, so such restrictive practices should be dropped. Such practices are not useful or beneficial in any area of commercial life and therefore the Minister of State needs to resolve this problem. I look forward to hearing what he has to say in his reply. It would be disappointing if the old Irish political style of Opposition proposing and Government rejecting were to apply in this case. I can see no good reason this Bill cannot be accepted.

Presumably the Bill would not be retrospective and would apply to gift vouchers issued from the date of the enactment of the amending legislation. In that case, no retailers could complain that they were suffering as a result of new legislation. This is a straightforward, black and white case. It is a good proposal that has been made on quite a few occasions by Senator Brendan Ryan. Just because it is an Opposition proposal, it does not mean it is either inadequate or erroneous. In the spirit of the politics we generally have in this House of co-operation and respect for others' views, I ask the Minister of State to take on board these good ideas and accept the proposed Bill. It would be a first for Senator Ryan and his colleagues for such a Bill to be accepted by the Government.