Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, to the House. He stated that the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, who was present, needed time to consider the Bill. We should have asked him which areas he considered.

The Bill is welcome news for consumers, as well as for traders. Good traders who practise well and within the law have nothing to worry about here. The Bill pertains to traders who do not take that approach. As stated, the EU has some of the strongest consumer rights laws in the world. That does not mean they cannot be enhanced further, however, which is what the Bill attempts to do. It is about trying to protect the rights of consumers, regardless of where they are in the EU, with alignment across all EU members. From a business perspective, it is important to recognise there is no extra red tape or administrative burden on businesses.

I compliment the Department and the Minister of State on the work that has been done on the Bill. In the context of stakeholder engagement, it is important that this has not just been done by the Minister of State and his Department. They reached out and got submissions from organisations and representatives regarding how best to do this. That was the right approach to take.

There will be few objections to the Bill, although I suspect amendments will be tabled when it comes before the House next week for Committee Stage. I look forward to discussing it in more detail on that Stage. In the broader sense, the Bill must be welcomed. I look forward to working with the Minister of State in the coming week.