Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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139. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if EU regulations or national legislation is in place which obliges electrical retailers to stock spare parts for products they are selling; the timeframe for setting out the length of time they must stock the parts after the product is no longer being sold or goes out of production; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39600/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Section 12(1) of the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 provides that in a contract for the sale of goods there is an implied warranty that spare parts and an adequate aftersale service will be made available by the seller in such circumstances as are stated in an offer, description or advertisement by the seller on behalf of the manufacturer or on his own behalf and for such period as is so stated or, if no period is so stated, for a reasonable period. The provision to make spare parts available for a specified or a reasonable period applies accordingly only where the seller of the goods has stated that he or she will do so in an offer, description or advertisement. Section 12(2) provides that the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation may, after consultation with interested parties, define by order in relation to any class of goods described in the order what shall be a reasonable period for the purpose of section 12(1).  No such order has been made to date.

There is no European Union legislation requiring electrical or other retailers to stock spare parts for a product that they are selling. The European Union (Consumer Information, Cancellation and Other Rights) Regulations 2013 which give effect to Directive 2011/83/EU on Consumer Rights require traders, where applicable, to provide information to the consumer on the existence and conditions of after-sales services and, additionally in the case of distance and off-premises contracts, after-sale customer assistance, before the consumer is bound by the contract. The Consumer Protection Act 2007 which gives effect to Directive 2005/29/EC on Unfair Commercial Practices prohibits at section 43 the provision of false or misleading information about the after-supply customer assistance available to consumers and the need for any part, replacement, servicing or repair in relation to the product if that information would be likely to cause the average consumer to make a purchasing or other transactional decision that he or she would not otherwise make.