This is a Seanad Bill which has been amended by the Dáil. In accordance with Standing Order 82, it is deemed to have passed its First, Second and Third Stages in the Seanad and is placed on the Order Paper for Report Stage. On the Question that the Bill be received for final consideration, the Minister may explain the purpose of the amendments made by the Dáil and this is looked upon as the report of the Dáil amendments to the Seanad. The only matter, therefore, that may be discussed is the amendments made by the Dáil. For the convenience of Senators I have arranged for the printing and circulation to them of those amendments. Members are aware, they may speak only once on the question. I had legislation like this yesterday and there was confusion. I hope what I have just said now is understood by Senators who will participate.
Restrictive Practices (Amendment) Bill, 1987 [Seanad Bill Amended by Dáil]: Report and Final Stages.
As Senators are aware, the overall purpose of this Bill is to strengthen the administration of competition and consumer protection policy. The post of examiner of restrictive practices is being abolished and his functions are being transferred to the new Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trade and the Fair Trade Commission. A significant measure in the Bill is the inclusion for the first time within the scope of competition legislation of such areas as banking, electricity and communications, a move which is consistent with the changing trends in competition legislation internationally. In addition, the powers of the Restrictive Practices Commission are being strengthened to allow the commission to exercise their functions on their own initiative.
The Bill which was initiated in this House was subsequently amended in the Dáil and so it is now necessary to consider these amendments. A total of four amendments have been made and I would like to explain them to Senators and ask them to support the Bill as amended.
The first amendment is designed to increase the accountability of the Minister for Industry and Commerce to the Oireachtas in relation to the making of restrictive practices orders. Section 8 of the 1972 Restrictive Practices Act deals with the making of restrictive practices orders by the Minister on the basis of a report of the Fair Trade Commission. Under the existing legislation, and this will still be the case when the Bill is passed, the commission, in a report to the Minister, may recommend the making of an order and if the Minister decides to make an order, he must, as soon as possible after he has received the report, lay before each House of the Oireachtas a statement giving the reasons for his decision. The intention of this amendment is to impose a time limit on the Minister by requiring him to make a statement to the Oireachtas if he has not made an order, as recommended by the commission, within one year of receipt of the commission's report.
In general, when the Minister has published a restrictive practices report which made recommendations which the Minister was empowered to enforce, the recommendations of the commission have been pursued without undue delay. There is, however, merit in making the Minister accountable to the Dáil and Seanad in the event that he has not made an Order within a reasonable period.
The second amendment passed by the Dáil also relates to reports of the Fair Trade Commission. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure that commission reports will be published by the Minister as soon as possible after he receives them. Under section 18 of the Restrictive Practices Act, 1972, the Minister is required to lay a copy of a report made by the Restrictive Practices Commission before the Houses of the Oireachtas but no time limit is specified. The effect of this amendment is to impose a deadline of four months within which the Minister must lay a report before the Houses.
In practice, reports are generally published within three months of their receipt from the commission. There can, however, be practical problems, particularly in relation to printing. When a report is received from the commission the Minister has to have the report printed and he may also have to consult with other Departments or interested parties about the commission's recommendations before he can evaluate the recommendations and assess their impact. I feel, therefore, that a deadline of four months is reasonable.
Turning now to the third amendment. This amendment relates to consumer protection legislation, the Consumer Information Act, 1978, and the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980, in particular, and is designed to increase the efficiency of the operation of the legislation by speeding up the procedure for the making of orders under those Acts. The current procedure for making orders requires that the Minister must lay a draft of the order before both the Dáil and the Seanad and a resolution approving the draft must be passed by each House before the order can take effect. The purpose of this amendment is to introduce a more rapid procedure, one which is to be found frequently in legislation, whereby the order would first be made by the Minister and would then be laid before both Houses and would have immediate effect unless annulled by resolution of either House.
The requirement that both the Dáil and the Seanad positively approve orders being made under these Acts has proved to be rather cumbersome and has led to long delays in the making of orders. The most recent such order, relating to consumer credit, was finally approved by the Oireachtas earlier this month, over thirteen months after it was first laid before both Houses. The present amendment will speed up the process of enacting legislation and, at the same time, will give Deputies and Senators, a chance to propose a motion to annul the provisions of an order if they feel that this is necessary.
The most recent order they refer to is the APR, which we could well have done with having in operation especially coming up to Christmas time to make interest rates more transparent to consumers and to the general public. Unfortunately it lay around both Houses — I cannot say that about the Seanad — but it had extreme difficulty in the Dáil in getting to the stage where it was passed into legislation and as such 13 months delay ensued. This is the new procedure to make it law from the day it is signed and if any Member of each House wants to put down an annulling motion he can do so.
The final amendment to the Bill relates to the inspection of bank accounts by the Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trade and the Fair Trade Commission. The section will require the director and the commission to apply to the High Court for an order if, in the course of the exercise of their functions, they consider it necessary to examine any individual bank accounts.
This amendment is a consumer protection measure. It arose primarily as a result of the inclusion of banks for the first time under the Restrictive Practices Act, 1972, and the Consumer Information Act, 1978. Senators may be aware that both the director and the commission have considerable powers of inspection under competition and consumer protection legislation. This amendment will ensure the continued confidentiality of a person's bank account by providing that the director or the commission cannot examine any individual bank account without having first obtained an order of the High Court authorising them to do so. The High Court may only grant such an order if it is satisfied that it is reasonable to do so and that the exigencies of the common good so warrant.
The provision will apply not only to banks but to all financial institutions within the meaning of the Central Banks Act, 1971. Thus, financial institutions such as building societies, post office savings banks and the Agricultural Credit Corporation will also be covered. This is in connection with the new power taken in the Bill to allow the examiner to examine bank charges, their validity and if they are fair and reasonable to the consumer. There was an outside possibility that confidentiality of personal bank accounts might be infringed. This amendment is really tightening up that situation.
I trust that Senators will agree that these amendments have strengthened the Bill and I recommend the Bill, as amended, to the House.
I will not delay the Minister very long. On behalf of the Fine Gael Party I would like to welcome the amendments to the House. It is the third time that we have had a discussion on the Restrictive Practices Bill. These amendment will copperfasten it more. I particularly welcome amendment No. 3. In regard to legislation everything is so cumbersome and slow and it is farcical that something to do with interest rates should take 13 months to go through the Oireachtas. It is a very good amendment. I welcome also amendment No. 4 which has to do with confidentiality of bank statements and bank accounts.
It is coincidental that when the APR order was discussed we also had divisions in the other House. Nevertheless we had a detailed discussion. I welcome these amendments. It will certainly strengthen the Bill. I particularly welcome the order dealing with putting orders into legislation without undue delay because the procedure has been cumbersome in the past and, as the Minister says, one particular order took 18 months to be finally enacted. Finally, on the last amendment, I also welcome the fact that the confidentiality of a person's bank account will be respected. I am very pleased to welcome these amendments.