Fines of up to €60,000 for breaches of consumer laws could be in place by the summer, according to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
The department yesterday published a Bill containing the new fines, which it hopes will pass all stages in the Oireachtas by the end of the current session.
Fines for breaches of the Consumer Information Act, which covers mislead advertising will be increased to a maximum of €60,000 from the current £10,000 (€12,600).
A similar increase will apply to fines for breaches of laws governing the quality of goods and whether they are fit for the purpose for which they are sold, which is covered by the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act.
The 1995 Consumer Credit Act - which covers the terms and conditions of financial services products and charges - is also being amended. A person found guilty of an offence under this Act could face fines of €100,000, or five years in prison, if convicted.
Where someone convicted under this Act continues to offend, they face fines of €10,000 a day. The fines for misleading advertising of package holidays are being increase to €3,000 from the previous £1,500.
The changes are contained in the Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2005, which was published yesterday.
It also includes a number of changes to penalties for insider trading offences. A person convicted of "market abuse" faces a maximum fine of €10 million and up to 10 years in prison. There is also a section providing for civil liability for breaches of Irish market abuse law.
It provides that an individual who breaches the insider trading laws will have to compensate parties involved in the transaction who did not have the insider information and suffered a loss. "Typically this would be a difference in the shareprice had the information been generally available," according to the explanatory memo accompanying the Bill.
A spokesman for the department said that it was "a matter of legal opinion" as to whether the new provision could apply to the facts surrounding cases such as the case currently being taken against DCC and its chief executive, Jim Flavin, by Fyffes.
DCC and Mr Flavin are accused of availing of insider information when DCC sold its stake in Fyffes, making a profit of over €70 million. The case is currently before the courts and expected to run into the summer, by which time the new law may have come into force.
The department pointed out that as a general principle, legislation does not apply retrospectively. The Bill also clears the way for the adoption of a new European Directive on market abuse, said the department.
A number of changes to the existing law on investment funds are also contained in the Bill, including the provision of a new investment vehicle, the non-UCITs Common Contractual Fund.
