Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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113. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his plans to introduce legislation to ensure that no one can solicit business on a doorstep without a licence. [2971/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I have no plans to introduce legislation to require door-to-door traders to be licensed. The administrative burden on legitimate door-to-door traders, and the cost to the State, that would result from such a requirement would, in my view, outweigh the potential benefits. Given the informal nature of a sizeable proportion of door-to-door trading, such a requirement would also be difficult to enforce effectively. My Department is aware of only 3 of the 28 European Union Member States, which have a licensing requirement for door-to-door traders.

The European Union (Consumer Information, Cancellation and Other Rights) Regulations 2013 which came into operation in June 2014 have significantly strengthened the protections for consumers purchasing goods or services on a doorstep or off-premises basis. As well as giving consumers enhanced information rights, the Regulations increased from 7 to 14 days the cooling-off period within which off-premises contracts can be cancelled by the consumer, and extended the right of cancellation to contracts concluded following solicited as well as unsolicited visits to the consumer’s home or place of work. Contracts commenced but not fully performed during the cooling-off period can now also be cancelled by the consumer subject to pro-rata payment for services provided up to the point of cancellation.