Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 October 2004
156 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will consider funding community information centres to establish a register of trades persons and handymen who will comply with certain standards and complaint procedures in order to protect citizens from cowboy traders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25853/04]
View answerThe network of citizen's information centres around the country is funded by Comhairle, the national agency responsible for information, advice and advocacy on social services. Citizen's information centres provide comprehensive information on the full range of social services available to citizens from state and voluntary agencies. They also deal with consumer queries.
Comhairle has recently published an updated version of its information booklet, Where to Complain, which provides contact details for more than 150 organisations at both Irish and EU level. The booklet includes a brief description of the various complaints and appeals mechanisms available and offers advice and guidance to consumers on making complaints and appeals and in seeking redress.
While accepting that citizens, particularly older and vulnerable citizens, need to be protected from unscrupulous trades persons it would not be appropriate for the role of citizen's information centres to be further extended so as to take on the task of compiling registers as suggested by the Deputy. The issue raised by the Deputy is essentially a consumer protection issue and, as such, a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
