Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 October 2018
309. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the way in which she plans to enforce the regulation of selling on online marketplaces of goods and products that fail to meet the required safety standards in the interest of consumer safety; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39601/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraEuropean product safety legislation places the onus on all economic operators – manufacturers, distributors and importers – to ensure that only safe products are placed on the market, including on online marketplaces. If economic operators become aware that products on the market present a potential hazard they must take appropriate measures, up to and including recall of the items, to ensure that the risk is removed. Any action taken by an operator must be notified to the relevant Market Surveillance Authority (MSA) in the State. Where an economic operator fails to take the action required, the relevant MSA will investigate and can order the economic operator to take the necessary corrective action. Where a product sold online originates in a country outside the EU, the economic operator will have to comply with the relevant customs authorities (whether in the State or in another jurisdiction) in relation to legislation covering products at point of entry into the EU.
There are a number of different MSAs in the State depending on the particular product in question. For example, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the statutory body responsible for the enforcement of EU law for certain products that are placed on the market, including electrical products within a certain voltage range, certain items of personal protective equipment and toys. Investigations and enforcement matters generally are part of the day-to-day operational work of the CCPC. Section 9(5) of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 provides that the CCPC is independent in the performance of its functions. Therefore, I, as Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, have no direct function in such matters.
More generally, Section 42 of the Consumer Protection Act 2007 provides that a trader shall not engage in a misleading commercial practice. Section 43 of the Act provides that a commercial practice is misleading if it includes the provision of false information or would be likely to cause the average consumer to be deceived or misled in relation to a range of matters, and if this would cause the average consumer to make a transactional or purchasing decision that he or she would not otherwise make. The matters specified under section 43 include the risks a product presents to consumers; the results to be expected from a product; the results and material features of tests or checks carried out on the product; and the existence, extent or nature of any approval or sponsorship of the product by others.
Section 47 of the Act provides that a trader who engages in a misleading commercial practice under section 43 commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction or conviction on indictment to the penalties laid down in the Act. Breach of section 43 also constitutes a 'prohibited act or practice' under section 67 of the Act and can be subject to a number of other enforcement options provided for in Part 5 of the Act, including prohibition orders (i.e. injunctions) and compliance notices. Section 74 of the Act provides that a consumer aggrieved by a prohibited act or practice has a right of action for damages, including exemplary damages, against the trader who commits or engages in the prohibited act or practice.
