asked the Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism if he intends to strengthen legislation to protect consumer interests.
Written Answers. - Consumer Protection.
73.
I recently made regulations to give effect to EEC Directive 79/112, commonly referred to as the Food Labelling Directive. When implemented, the regulation will improve greatly the amount of information available to consumers about the food they buy. The regulations apply mainly to prepackaged foodstuffs, and the information required includes the product name, place of origin (if its omission would mislead), the list of ingredients, name and address of manufacturer, packer or seller, quantity, date of minimum durability and, where necessary, instructions for use or storage.
I will also make regulations soon in the field of price-marking of foodstuffs. These will require all food to indicate the selling price at the point of retail sale, as well as the unit-price (i.e. price per kilo, litre, etc.) in the case of certain foodstuffs sold loose or in variable quantity.
74.
asked the Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism if he will explain his reported statement recently that consumer protection measures must always be means to an end and not an end in themselves and that if they threaten to put at risk certain jobs or disimprove our competitiveness internationally we must reassess our priorities.
I think the sentence quoted by the Deputy, read in perspective, is self-explanatory and I would refer the Deputy to the rest of my statement on this matter.
My overall view, essentially, is that we in Ireland have progressed fairly rapidly in recent years as far as consumer protection measures are concerned. However, the actions we take must reflect the times we live in. In considering new measures for adoption, I do not believe it is sufficient to look solely at the purpose of the measures in narrow consumer protection terms. We must also look at their broad impact and how they contribute overall to the benefit of society, bearing in mind any possible wider effects, — for example, on employment, industry or trade. In other words we must strike a balance of where the people's greater interest lies. As the recent statement to which the Deputy refers said, the search for an improved consumer regime must be carefully balanced, in a period of widespread and growing unemployment throughout Ireland and the rest of Europe, so as to responsibly reflect the problems faced by industry at the present time. However, this is not to say that there should not be progress in consumer protection. A number of current measures, covering such diverse subjects as food labelling, unit pricing, doorstep sales, product liability and consumer credit will, when implemented, represent a major advance for the consumer.