Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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313. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to outline protections in place for consumers regarding the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35528/25]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) provides information and education on consumer rights and personal finance. The Deputy will understand that the CCPC cannot give legal or financial advice to individuals, however the CCPC has provided my officials with relevant consumer rights information and some suggested next steps.

The CCPC has advised that the correspondence does not include details of how the individual and the tradesperson agreed on the work or the nature of it. However, consumer law also protects consumers when they buy from a business online or over the phone.

Before the purchase is made, businesses must provide contact information, details of the service, costs, cancellation and contracts. Any service supplied must be in conformity with the service contract. This means it should comply with the terms of the contract as agreed with the consumer, comply with any description or advertisement of the service and be of a nature and quality that a consumer can reasonably expect.

In addition, traders have further obligations to consumers, in that they should have the skills necessary to provide the service and provide that service with reasonable care and skill. Any materials or goods supplied with the service must be sound and fit for purpose.

If a consumer feels that their rights have been affected and the service supplied does not match the contract, where, for example, it can be shown that the service was not carried out with reasonable care and skill, they are entitled to seek a remedy – for example, having the service brought into alignment with the contract, or a proportionate reduction in price. Traders must bring the service into conformity free of charge to the consumer, within a reasonable time and without any significant inconvenience to the consumer.

In addition, consumers may be entitled to damages, decisions on which are decided by the Courts.

Reference was made to damage to a boiler. The CCPC advise that if this relates to the installation of a gas boiler, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) should be contacted at this link: rgi.ie/support/report-an-illegal-gas-installer/

The CCPC welcomes reports about businesses that may have breached consumer rights. As while the CCPC is unable to take legal cases on behalf of individuals, the information is screened and helps inform enforcement activity. A formal complaint may be made to the CCPC at the following link: www.ccpc.ie/consumers/consumers-home/contact/report-a-consumer-protection-issue/

Lastly, where a consumer feels their rights have been affected and they would like to take legal action but the address of the business cannot be located, the CCPC suggest contacting the Courts Service Registrar - see www.courts.ie/customer-service - for more information on how to proceed. Their contact email is ccco@courts.ie.