Newly introduced consumer legislation is "very Big Brother" and fails to recognise that consumers have obligations, an Ibec conference has been told. Paul Cullen, Consumer Affairs Correspondent, reports.
Arnotts chairman Richard Nesbitt said the Consumer Protection Act, which came into force earlier this month, bestowed draconian powers on State agencies to look into businesses' affairs.
While the Act was generally well thought out, companies would be well advised to prepare "dawn raid packs" for dealing with situations in which they got into difficulty with the National Consumer Agency (NCA), he told the conference .
Mr Nesbitt, a leading senior counsel, predicted the legislation would prove "good news for lawyers" because it covered areas of law that were "fabulously complex".
However, NCA acting chief executive Ann Fitzgerald said Irish businesses had nothing to fear from the new legislation, so long as they were offering a good product at a fair price. Her agency would focus on the main areas of "consumer detriment" with the aim of getting the fairest deal possible for consumers.
The Act puts the NCA on a statutory basis and gives it wide-ranging powers to investigate and prosecute businesses involved in illegal consumer practices. Aileen O'Donoghue, chair of Ibec's regulated sectors group, called for an end to the "hand-to-hand combat" between business and consumer interests.
"For too long, consumer policy has been driven by easy soundbites and skirmishes with business. This is a good opportunity now with the advent of the NCA to change that."
She also called for a range of new agreements between key regulators to avoid duplication, excessive bureaucracy and inconsistencies in their mandates.
The NCA and the Irish Financial Regulatory Authority are due to begin talks soon on a co-operation agreement demarcating their respective responsibilities. Ms Fitzgerald said it made no sense to have two State bodies trawling the same area.
Mary O'Dea, consumer director of the financial regulator, promised her organisation would work with the NCA to ensure there was no overlap in their roles. She said her aim was to introduce greater transparency in financial services so consumers can "vote with their feet".
Ms O'Donoghue welcomed Minister for Enterprise and Employment Micheál Martin's decision not to introduce provisions in the Act banning credit card surcharges. The proposal to first carry out a regulatory impact assessment was correct, she said.
Colin Morgan, chief executive of Glanbia Consumer Foods, said consumer protection was not "a free ride" because costs had to be met, by the consumer or the business.
