Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Táim an-sásta a bheith sa Seanad chun an Bille tábhachtach seo a mholadh. I am delighted to have the opportunity to introduce the Consumer Rights Bill 2022 to Seanad Éireann. This Bill represents the most significant reform of consumer law in over 40 years. It consolidates and updates existing legislation on the sale of goods and supply of services, in particular to ensure that it is fit for the modern digital age.

A core feature of my role in the Department is to ensure we have a fair and effective market that works for both businesses and consumers. This Bill does that by strengthening protections for consumers while also creating clearer rules for traders. Not only does the Bill modernise domestic law, but it also transposes two EU directives on contracts for the sale of goods and contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services. In addition, it transposes most of another EU directive, the better enforcement and modernisation directive.The Bill has received significant consideration due to its complexity. I want particularly to acknowledge the work of former Ministers, Deputies Richard Bruton and Robert Troy, during their time in this Department in developing and progressing this legislation. The Bill has passed pre-legislative scrutiny and has come through the Dáil. I acknowledge the cross-party support for its provisions. This speaks to its importance. That is why I am particularly pleased to introduce the Bill to Seanad Éireann today.

The purpose of the Bill is to bring about several positive changes for consumers, including stronger consumer rights, protections and remedies across a number of key areas. For instance, it gives people stronger consumer rights when it comes to how problems with goods or services are resolved. Instead of just exchange, refund or repair, customers will also be entitled to agree a price reduction on faulty goods and flawed services. They will also be entitled to withhold payment for goods or services that have been partially paid for if they are not satisfied with the quality of the item or service received. Critically the Bill stipulates that any form of redress must be free of charge and must be carried out as soon as possible.

The Bill brings together in one statute provisions that are currently contained in diverse pieces of law and some that have never been regulated before. In existing legislation consumers have no rights to remedies when services are not provided as expected and agreed, for example, legal services or building services. The Consumer Rights Bill closes that gap. It also includes new protections for consumers in regard to digital content such as audio and video files, computer games and digital services such as streaming services, cloud computing and social media. These new digital rights include the right to a full refund, exchange or repair when a good or service is not as described nor fit for purpose.

Consumers will be entitled to any upgrades to the product or service that is needed to ensure that it continues to work as expected and agreed free of charge. The Bill contains a new blacklist of contract terms and conditions that are automatically deemed to be unfair and which should not be included in any consumer contract, for example, where the agreement is only legally binding for the consumer and not the trader. Businesses will be required to set out clearly a description of the goods or services being provided, the total price and cost of delivery before entering a contract with a consumer.

Furthermore the Bill gives extra enforcement powers to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, which is the body responsible for enforcing consumer law in Ireland. These new powers mean that when traders engage in misleading and aggressive commercial practices like posting fake reviews or where they do not provide the remedies or reimbursements that consumers are entitled to, the CCPC can take action such as issuing compliance notices or applying to the Circuit Court or the High Court for a declaration or injunction. It will also provide enforcement powers to the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, in regard to electronic communication services and premium rate services, and to the Central Bank with regard to financial services.

The date given by the European Commission for transposing these directives was July 2021 for the sale of goods directive and the digital content directive, and November 2021 for the better enforcement and modernisation directive. Unfortunately we, along with several other member states, did not meet these deadlines. As seen and as noted through earlier debates this Bill is a complex and highly technical piece of legislation which required significant consideration and redrafting. The focus has been to make sure that we get it right even if that meant taking a little more time. I am confident therefore that the Bill presented today is robust, well-considered and fit for purpose.

I now turn to the main provisions of the Bill. This Bill contains 14 Parts and six Schedules. It is important to point out at this juncture that with very limited exceptions Parts 2, 3 and 5 transpose maximum harmonisation directives which give little or no discretion as to their implementation.

Part 1 deals with matters common to legislation. It also contains generally applying provisions relating to the making of contracts, preventing traders from attempting to restrict the rights of the consumer and the jurisdiction of the court to order remedies. Part 2 focuses on the rights of consumers under sales contracts and on the remedies available to consumers where goods do not conform to those contracts. It gives effect to the 2019 sale of goods directive and incorporates the provisions applying to consumer contracts under the Sale of Goods Act 1893. It also deals with commercial guarantees.

Part 3 gives effect to the digital content directive on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services. Its provisions set out the rights that apply under such contracts and the remedies that apply for the infringement of those rights.

Part 4 will replace the provisions of the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 that relate to service contracts. It expands the rights of consumers in respect of such contracts and establishes a scheme of remedies that will apply where a service does not conform to those rights.

Part 5 re-enacts, with substantial amendment, the provisions on consumer information and cancellation rights contained in the consumer rights directive. In addition, it repeats rights in the directive relating to payment fees, additional payments, charges for calls to consumer helplines and inertia selling.

Part 6 makes a number of important changes to the provisions of the European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) Regulations 1995, which transposed the unfair terms in consumer contracts directive. It also gives effect to the new penalty provisions inserted in the directive by the better enforcement and modernisation directive.

Part 7 sets out the enforcement powers and penalties under the Bill. The CCPC will have enforcement responsibilities for consumer contracts under all Parts of this legislation. The Central Bank will continue to have an enforcement function under Part 7 and the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, will have an enforcement function under Parts 5 to 7.

Part 8 contains the various amendments to the Consumer Credit Act 1995 that are required to ensure that the protections and remedies available to consumers in respect of the purchase of goods will be available irrespective of whether the consumer pays the price in a one-off payment or by way of instalment or other type of deferred payment.

Part 9 contains the various amendments to the Consumer Protection Act 2007 that are required to transpose amendments to the unfair commercial practices directive made by the better enforcement and modernisation direction. These amendments will extend and enhance the enforcement measures available to the CCPC.

Parts 10 to 14 provide for a number of amendments to other enactments, such as the Central Bank Act 1942, the Communications Regulation Act 2002, the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 and the Companies Act 2014.

Schedule 1 sets out repeals and revocations. Schedule 2 sets out the information to be provided by the trader prior to the conclusion of an on-premises contract. Schedule 3 sets out the information to be provided by the trader prior to the conclusion of an off-premises contract or distance contract. Schedule 4 provides the information concerning the exercise of the right to cancel and includes the model cancellation form. Schedule 5 deals with contract terms that are presumed unfair. Schedule 6 sets out the amendments to Acts and statutory instruments.

A comprehensive consolidated consumer rights Act will provide a legislative framework that is more appropriate to present-day conditions and requirements, is simpler to understand and navigate, creates clearer rules for businesses and strengthens consumer rights. Therefore, this legislation is good news for consumers. It is equally good news for businesses because it recognises the behaviour of responsible traders and puts them on a legislative footing. It also ensures that regulators like the CCPC and ComReg have the powers necessary to sanction businesses that do not uphold the standards that this legislation will demand.

I thank everyone who has made an input to the Bill to date. I thank the officials in my Department for the considerable work that has gone into the Bill. I look forward to further input during this debate and I commend the Bill to the House.