Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am standing in for Senator Ahearn who has been leading on this legislation in the joint committee. As the Minister of State noted, this is a good day for consumer rights with regard to goods and services, and also digital services. I hope today is the day our consumer rights catch up with the digital transformation. This Bill has been a long time in the making. As the Minister of State said, the former Minister, Deputy Bruton, the former Minister of State, Deputy Troy, and now the Minister of State himself have all worked on this legislation, which is the most significant Bill in this area in four decades.

The Bill substantially reforms and consolidates existing consumer protection legislation. It is important that it does this for the consumer but it also brings clarity to businesses by bringing all of the existing provisions under a single Act, while at the same introducing new and enhanced consumer protection measures. In 2011, the sales law review group concluded that the legislative framework for consumer contract rights, in addition to the EU directives in this area, was becoming very complex and contradictory in parts. This Bill will bring together the different legislation and also transpose the necessary EU directives, taking into consideration various aspects of consumer contracts.

The Minister of State outlined what the Bill proposes to do. Of most significance is that it provides a comprehensive and straightforward legal framework to regulate the main types of consumer contract, modernising existing consumer law and the EU directives. The Bill enhances the powers of the CCPC, which is very important. It extends enforcement powers to ComReg in relation to electronic communications and premium rate services and to the Central Bank in relation to financial services. It amends provisions off the Consumer Credit Act 1995 regarding hire purchase agreements and consumer hire agreements so that they mirror the rights provided for under sales contracts. Given the proliferation of various aspects of consumer contracts, I can only imagine what a complex process this has been.

Of the three EU directives from 2019, one covers contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services, another covers contracts for the sale of goods and the third is for the better enforcement and modernisation of EU consumer protection rules. Three of four parts of the third directive are included, dealing with unfair terms and consumer contracts, unfair commercial practices and consumer rights.

The Minister of State set out the benefits of this legislation, as wide and far-reaching as it is, in a concise and succinct way. It protects consumers with regard to the quantity, quality, durability and any other feature of the goods that were bought for the purpose for which they were bought. This means that the contracts must be honoured or reimbursement must be provided within 14 days. New protections for consumers are included for digital content and services.

As my colleague, Senator Crowe, pointed out, reviews and fake reviews are covered by the Bill. Consumer contracts for the supply of digital services have not previously been the subject of specific statutory regulation. Service contracts are also included and are obviously a very important part of consumer activity now. Consumer information and cancellation rights are also addressed, as are unfair terms in consumer contracts, including through a new blacklist of contract terms and conditions that are regarded as unfair and should not be included in consumer contracts. Unfair consumer practices are also covered, with additional protections provided against misleading and aggressive commercial practices and enforcement powers.The Minister of State has outlined various aspects of the Bill. I thank the Ministers who have worked on this and the committee for the Trojan work done over the years. As I said, it is a good day for consumer rights.