Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 6:

In page 105, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: "Protection for the Elderly

130. (1) An entity providing a good, service or looking for a person to sign a contract shall do all that is reasonable to ensure that a person is not impaired from access to their services by issues with mobility or IT skills.

(2) The provision of interpretation shall be at no cost to the person concerned.

(3) The Minister may, by regulations, provide that where a person intends to avail of a good or service using different technology, the person shall give the body such prior notification of their intention within such a period as specified in the regulations.".

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to deal with this. It is quite a simple amendment. It is about how we can protect the elderly and more vulnerable in terms of consumer affairs and consumer rights. We know from transactions in banks and other transactions in the commercial world that there are difficulties in this area. My amendment, which has three aspects, is to insert the following provisions into the legislation:

(1) An entity providing a good, service or looking for a person to sign a contract shall do all that is reasonable to ensure that a person is not impaired from access to their services by issues with mobility or IT skills.

(2) The provision of interpretation shall be at no cost to the person concerned.

(3) The Minister may, by regulations, provide that where a person intends to avail of a good or service using different technology, the person shall give the body such prior notification of their intention within such a period as specified in the regulations.

In drawing the Minister of State's attention to the important rationale behind my amendment, I draw his attention to the Irish Sign Language Act 2017. A provision in that legislation states a public body shall do all that is reasonable to ensure interpretation into Irish Sign Language. It concerns Irish Sign Language but recognises that there are people at a disadvantage in transactions and engagement. They should not be put at any disadvantage, be they elderly, vulnerable or with a disability. It is important that we keep the whole process open to allow engagement. There is precedent for what I advocate in the Irish Sign Language Act 2017. The Minister of State might take a look at that. My point is an important one to make.

We must also ensure that the rights of the elderly and others, I do not want to make the legislation too prescriptive, are protected. At the moment, many products and services are becoming more restricted for certain categories of people. Banking, which I mentioned, is becoming increasingly difficult. This is also the case in the areas of consumer protection and consumer rights. In this regard, I am referring to the consumer understanding of contractual arrangements. It is about freeing things up and recognising that everybody needs to be included. This amendment will also help to stop discrimination, which is important.

I have mentioned that the Irish Sign Language Act protects the rights of people who are deaf or hard of hearing when accessing Government services. That is specifically set out in the legislation. Therefore, it is important that we take steps to ensure elderly people are not prevented from accessing services due to a lack of IT skills or mobility issues. I encourage the House to consider my amendment. I look forward to hearing the response of the Minister of State.