Ireland overhauls law to give consumers major new rights

Ireland is doing a historic overhaul of law to give consumers major new rights, a cabinet minister said on Monday.

Proposals include ban on expiry dates in gift vouchers and new rights in services and online contracts, said Richard Bruton, the country's minister for jobs, enterprise and innovation.

The legislation, which is being published on Monday for consultation, represents the most far-reaching reform of consumer law in decades.

It will make consumer rights clear to consumers and businesses alike by replacing the overlapping and confusing combination of primary, secondary and European legislation in place currently, and will bestow major new rights on consumers, the Irish minister said.

"There is a basic imbalance in contracts between consumers and the people they purchase goods and services from -- that is why we are constantly seeking to improve our laws in this area to provide better rights for people in a changing environment," he said.

The minister said the proposed changes are aimed at doing two things. Firstly, it aims to improve consumer rights in purchasing online goods and services, which obviously accounts for an increasing proportion of consumer transactions. Secondly, it intends to clear up the anomalies and gaps in consumer rights that have grown up through years of overlapping legislation at primary, secondary and European level.

The existing law has too many rules in some areas and too few or none at all in other areas, according to Bruton.

The consultation, which opened on Monday, will close on Aug. 28, and the target for enactment of the new legislation is mid-2016. Endit