asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether his attention has been drawn to the statement of the Director of the British Retail Trading-Standards Association that there is an astonishing lack of description on garments and goods on sale in this country; that rayon garments had been offered for sale as silk material; and that rayon material was on sale as linen; and whether legislation which will deal with the description of goods will be introduced.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Description of Goods.
43.
Mr. O'Leary
I have seen a newspaper report of the statement referred to by the Deputy, and I would refer him to the reply which I gave to a similar type of question by him on 1st March, 1966. I have nothing to add to that reply.
Mr. O'Leary
There have been further reports of a similar character and I would again ask the Minister if he is convinced that the consumer in this country is protected adequately under present law. The Minister's answer is that the Irish shopkeeper is able to look after himself. I suggest the consumer is not.
I told the Deputy it is a wide subject that cannot be dealt with piecemeal but is being kept under constant review. To deal with it now, I would have to take resources from elsewhere which are being used to better effect at the moment——
Is it not perfectly simple, without using anybody's resources, to have those responsible for packaged merchandise declare on the packets the net weight of their contents? There are at present being sold in Dublin packets of butter which everybody believes to contain a pound but which contain in fact only 15 ounces. Peas are being sold in packets which do not contain 16 ounces but 14½ ounces.
If they are sold as pounds——
No, they are not sold as pounds but as packets. The Minister should say to everybody responsible for causing packets to be sold to declare to everybody the net weight the packets contain—12 ounces, 14 ounces or 16 ounces. By all means, sell packets containing any weight but label the weight on the packets.
I do not disagree it is desirable to protect the consumer in everything he does, but dealing with this problem would be piecemeal treatment of a wide subject which to be dealt with fully would require legislation and its implementation. It is not as simple as it seems.
This is a classic example of the best being the enemy of the good. It should not be left to the consumer to find out how much is in the packet. This should be declared on the outside of the packet.
All the consumer has to do is ask the grocer how much is in the packet. If the grocer says it is a pound and there is not a pound in the packet——
And she comes into court after she has taken a knifeful of butter out of it and the prosecution fails and the grocer then sues the woman for wrongful prosecution.
Mr. O'Leary
It is not good enough in the conditions prevailing today.
If I had unlimited resources for the preparation and policing of the required legislation, it would be done. The resources available to me are fully extended in what I consider to be more important work.
Mr. O'Leary
We often look at legislation from the British Labour Government. We should take a look at their Description of Goods Bill.