Consumer Protection Bill published today
01/02/2007 - 10:23:05The Minister Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, today published the legal text of the Consumer Protection Bill 2007.
The Bill, which will formally put the National Consumer Agency on a statutory footing will be debated in the Oireachtas in coming weeks beginning in the Senate next Tuesday, 6 February.
Speaking at the launch of the Bill, Minister Martin said: “This Bill replaces much of the existing body of consumer law with a modern, up-to-date statute which will provide consumers with the highest level of protection in their dealings with business.
"It will also provide the National Consumer Agency with a wide range of enforcement powers to ensure that all businesses comply with their obligations to consumers under the Bill.”
Traders who mislead consumers, or act in an aggressive way towards consumers, or who otherwise engage in the extensive list of practices to be prohibited by the Bill, will be leaving themselves open to fines of up to €60,000 or imprisonment for up to 18 months for a first offence, if successfully prosecuted.
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