Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 126: To ask the Minister for Transport if he has had consultations with the European Commission in relation to the planned stakeholder consultation to be held in October with regard to a planned overhaul of consumer rights for holiday makers; his views on the planned overhaul; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32266/09]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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In 2007 the European Commission commenced a consultation process for the review of the Package Holiday Directive (Council Directive No. 90/314/EEC), which sets out consumer rights in the package travel, package holiday and package tour sectors.

My Department recently attended a workshop on the review for Member States, which was held by the Directorate General for Consumers in the European Commission. It is understood that the Commission will shortly engage with wider stakeholders including industry, regulators and consumer groups to explore a range of specific proposals for reform of the Directive.

The purpose of the Commission's review is to update consumer rights in response to significant changes in the market since the adoption of the existing Directive in 1990. Consumers are increasingly moving away from the traditional package holiday booked through tour operators and travel agents, to organising travel and accommodation themselves through a combination of means including the Internet. This fundamental change in the market structure has led to a significant number of holidays not being protected by existing legislation.

As the key objective of the review is to ensure that adequate protections are in place for the consumer, it is expected that the Department of Enterprise Trade & Employment and the National Consumer Agency will also play an active part in the consultation process for the proposed reform of this Directive.