Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 February 2010
182 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the issues surrounding labelling of products from illegal Israeli settlements; and her plans to address these issues. [4816/10]
View answer183 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the practice of shopping centres here renting floorspace to Israeli outlets selling Dead Sea products which are in fact products from illegal Israeli settlements; the action she will take regarding same. [4817/10]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 182 and 183 together.
The issue raised by the Deputy involves a number of different policy considerations. In so far as my own area of direct policy responsibility is concerned, the Consumer Protection Act 2007 includes specific provisions in relation to the provision of information to consumers in the course of commercial transactions. Specifically the Act provides that the provision of false information in relation to the geographical or commercial origin of a product and where that information would be likely to cause the average consumer to make a transactional decision that the average consumer would not otherwise make, such a practice is a misleading commercial practice. Traders who engage in misleading commercial practices commit an offence and are liable on conviction on indictment or on summary conviction, as the case may be, to the fines and penalties provided for under the Act. Evidence of traders engaging in misleading commercial practices should be brought to the attention of the National Consumer Agency, which is the body responsible for the enforcement of the Consumer Protection Act 2007.
Should the products referred to in the Deputy's questions relate to food products, there are Regulations governing the labeling of certain food products. These Regulations are enforced by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, which operates under the auspices of my colleague the Minister for Health and Children.
As regards issues relating to Israeli settlements, these issues essentially involve foreign policy considerations, which are the responsibility of the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
