Consumer Protection Act 2007
Number 19 of 2007
CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2007
REVISED
Updated to 30 April 2024
This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Consumer Protection Act 2007. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.
All Acts up to and including the Court Proceedings (Delays) Act 2024 (12/2024), enacted 1 May 2024, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Act 2023 (Commencement) Order 2024 (S.I. No. 181 of 2024), made 30 April 2024, were considered in the preparation of this revision.
Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to
revisedacts@lawreform.ie.
Number 19 of 2007
CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2007
REVISED
Updated to 30 April 2024
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Preliminary Matters
Section
1. Short title and commencement.
2. Interpretation and application.
National Consumer Agency
The Agency
6. Establishment day. (Repealed)
7. Establishment of Agency. (Repealed)
8. Functions of Agency. (Repealed)
8A. Supplementary powers of Agency with respect to carrying out certain responsibilities. (Repealed)
9. Review of legislation. (Repealed)
10. Membership of Agency. (Repealed)
11. Chairperson of Agency. (Repealed)
12. Meetings and procedures of Agency. (Repealed)
13. Committees. (Repealed)
14. Chief executive. (Repealed)
15. Functions of chief executive. (Repealed)
16. Attendance of chief executive before Committee of Public Accounts. (Repealed)
17. Attendance of chief executive before other Oireachtas Committees. (Repealed)
18. Membership of either House of the Oireachtas, European Parliament or local authority. (Repealed)
19. Indemnity for members of Agency. (Repealed)
20. Strategy statement and work programme of Agency. (Repealed)
21. Provision for co-operation between Agency and certain prescribed bodies. (Repealed)
22. Reports and information to Minister. (Repealed)
23. Accounts and audits. (Repealed)
24. Advances by Minister to Agency. (Repealed)
24A. Annual estimate of income for certain purposes.
24C. Surplus or deficiency in certain income of Agency during financial year.
24D. Arrangements in relation to collection of levies.
25. Disclosure of interests. (Repealed)
26. Power to enter into contracts and to engage consultants and advisers. (Repealed)
27. Premises of Agency. (Repealed)
28. Seal of Agency. (Repealed)
29. Power to borrow. (Repealed)
30. Authorised officers of Agency. (Repealed)
31. Disclosure of information relating to offences. (Repealed)
32. Prohibition on unauthorised disclosure of information. (Repealed)
33. Amendment of Freedom of Information Act 1997. (Repealed)
Staff of Agency
34. Staffing. (Repealed)
35. Transfer of employment of certain persons to Agency. (Repealed)
36. Superannuation. (Repealed)
Transfer of Functions, etc.
37. Transfer of functions to Agency. (Repealed)
38. Preservation of existing contracts. (Repealed)
39. Transfer of assets and liabilities. (Repealed)
40. References in certain other enactments to Director or Office of Director. (Repealed)
Commercial Practices
Unfair Commercial Practices
41. General prohibition on unfair commercial practices.
Misleading Commercial Practices
42. General prohibition on misleading commercial practices.
43. Misleading: false, misleading or deceptive information.
44. Misleading: competitor or product confusion in marketing or advertising.
44A. Misleading: marketing of goods as identical where significantly different.
45. Misleading: non-compliance with commitment under code of practice by which trader is bound.
46. Misleading: withholding, omitting or concealing material information.
47. Offence: misleading commercial practices.
48. Prohibition on surcharges where one method of payment chosen in preference to another.
49. Requirement that surcharge (where otherwise permissible) be stated as part of price.
50. Consumer information regulations.
51. Offences: contravening consumer information regulations.
Aggressive Commercial Practices
52. General prohibition on aggressive commercial practices.
53. Aggressive commercial practices.
54. Offence: aggressive commercial practices.
Prohibited Commercial Practices
55. Prohibited commercial practices.
56. Offence: prohibited commercial practices.
57. Price display regulations.
58. Offence: price display contraventions.
59. Offence: weighing facilities in grocery retail.
60. Offence: preventing the reading of prices.
61. State of emergency affecting supply of a product.
62. Power to fix maximum prices during state of emergency.
63. Offence: contravening maximum price orders.
Grocery Goods Undertakings
63B. Regulations in respect of grocery goods undertakings.
63C. Inspections and investigations by the Commission.
Pyramid Promotional Schemes
66. Pyramid promotional scheme agreements void.
Gift Voucher Contracts
66A. Definitions and application.
66B. Terms of gift voucher contracts.
Proceedings, Remedies and Penalties
Interpretation and General Matters related to Proceedings
68. Presumption respecting representations.
70. Offence of trader due to act or default of another person.
Civil Proceedings
71. Civil relief by way of prohibition orders.
72. Prohibition orders against code owners.
73. Undertakings with the Agency.
74. Consumer's right of action for damages.
74A. Consumer’s right to price reduction and termination of contract.
Compliance Notices
Criminal Proceedings
76. Time limit for instituting proceedings.
77. Liability for offences by bodies corporate.
77A. Time limit for instituting summary proceedings.
80. Convicted persons liable for costs and expenses of proceedings and investigation.
81. Convicted traders liable to compensate consumers for loss or damage.
82. Court may order convicted person to publish corrective statement.
83. Summary trial of persons indicted.
84. Agency may institute summary proceedings for offences.
Fixed Payment Notices
85. Fixed payment notices for price display and product pricing offences.
Publication of Trader Names (Consumer Protection List)
86. Agency may publish information respecting certain persons.
Publication of Names (Grocery Goods Undertakings List)
86A. Commission may publish certain information in respect of grocery goods undertakings.
Miscellaneous
87. Protections for persons reporting breaches.
88. Voluntary submission of codes for Agency review and approval.
89. Admissibility of codes of practice in proceedings.
91. Saving for certain contracts.
92. Saving of current price display orders.
94. Amendment of Central Bank Act 1942.
95. Amendment of Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980.
96. Saving for other rights person may have.
97. Amendment of Industrial Development Act 1993.
98. Amendment of Casual Trading Act 1995.
99. Amendment of Hallmarking Act 1981.
100. Power of officer of customs and excise to detain unsafe goods.
101. Directions under certain instruments respecting product safety: actions of third parties.
102. Admissibility of certain laboratory tests.
Existing Enactments
Enactments — Acts of the Oireachtas
Enactments made under the European Communities Act 1972 which are existing Enactments
Repeals
References in Certain Acts and Instruments to Director or Office of Director
References in Certain Acts to Director of Consumer Affairs or Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs
References in Certain Instruments to Director of Consumer Affairs or Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs
Enactments for the purpose of section 73 (Undertakings with the Agency)
Enactments for the purpose of section 75 (Compliance notices)
Redress for contravention of section 87
Statutory Instruments for the purposes of sections 101 and 102 (Directions respecting product safety and admissibility of laboratory tests)
Directives for the purpose of section 102 (Admissibility of laboratory tests)
Relevant statutory instruments
Acts Referred to
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1930, No. 10 |
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1931, No. 26 |
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Anglo-Portuguese Commercial Treaty Act 1914 |
5 & 6 Geo. 5., c. 1 |
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Anglo-Portuguese Commercial Treaty Act 1916 |
6 & 7 Geo. 5., c. 39 |
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2001, No. 19 |
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1995, No. 19 |
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1942, No. 22 |
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Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2003 |
2003, No. 12 |
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Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2004 |
2004, No. 21 |
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1990, No. 33 |
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2002, No. 14 |
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1993, No. 8 |
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1995, No. 24 |
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1978, No. 1 |
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1967, No. 12 |
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2000, No. 27 |
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1993, No. 25 |
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1972, No. 27 |
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1997, No. 2 |
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1998, No. 29 |
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1997, No. 13 |
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1981, No. 18 |
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1986, No. 9 |
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1993, No. 19 |
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2005, No. 23 |
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Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2006 |
2006, No. 41 |
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1991, No. 28 |
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2001, No. 37 |
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Merchandise Marks Act 1887 |
50 & 51 Vic., c. 28 |
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Merchandise Marks Act 1891 |
54 & 55 Vic., c. 15 |
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Merchandise Marks Act 1911 |
1 & 2 Geo. 5., c. 31 |
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1931, No. 48 |
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1970, No. 10 |
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Merchandise Marks Acts 1887 to 1978 |
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Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005 |
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1986, No. 11 |
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1996, No. 28 |
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1979, No. 35 |
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2003, No. 32 |
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1980, No. 26 |
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2002, No. 22 |
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1997, No. 20 |
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1980, No. 11 |
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1995, No. 17 |
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Parental Leave Acts 1998 and 2006 |
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1964, No. 31 |
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2003, No. 46 |
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1930, No. 35 |
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1972, No. 20 |
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1958, No. 4 |
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1997, No. 31 |
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2003, No. 29 |
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2001, No. 45 |
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1980, No. 27 |
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Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2003 |
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1987, No. 31 |
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1968, No. 25 |
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1980, No. 16 |
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1955, No. 14 |
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1936, No. 6 |
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1997, No. 39 |
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1994, No. 5 |
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Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 and 2001 |
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1980, No. 23 |
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1977, No. 10 |
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Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2005 |
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2005, No. 22 |
Number 19 of 2007
CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2007
REVISED
Updated to 30 April 2024
AN ACT TO GIVE EFFECT TO THE UNFAIR COMMERCIAL PRACTICES DIRECTIVE (DIRECTIVE NO. 2005/29/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL OF 11 MAY 2005), TO ESTABLISH A BODY TO BE KNOWN AS AN GHNÍOMHAIREACHT NÁISIÚNTA TOMHALTÓIRÍ OR, IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, THE NATIONAL CONSUMER AGENCY AND TO DEFINE ITS FUNCTIONS, TO MAKE NEW PROVISION IN RELATION TO PYRAMID SELLING SCHEMES, TO AMEND THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ACT 1993 AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.
[21st April, 2007]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
Annotations
Modifications (not altering text):
C1
Functions transferred and references to “Department of Finance” and “Minister for Finance” construed (29.07.2011) by Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 418 of 2011), arts. 2, 3, 5 and sch. 1 part 2, in effect as per art. 1(2).
2. (1) The administration and business in connection with the performance of any functions transferred by this Order are transferred to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
(2) References to the Department of Finance contained in any Act or instrument made thereunder and relating to the administration and business transferred by paragraph (1) shall, on and after the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
3. The functions conferred on the Minister for Finance by or under the provisions of —
(a) the enactments specified in Schedule 1, and
(b) the statutory instruments specified in Schedule 2,
are transferred to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
...
5. References to the Minister for Finance contained in any Act or instrument under an Act and relating to any functions transferred by this Order shall, from the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
...
Schedule 1
Enactments
...
Part 2
1922 to 2011 Enactments
|
Number and Year |
Short Title |
Provision |
|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
|
... |
... |
... |
|
No. 19 of 2007 |
Consumer Protection Act 2007 |
Sections 7(2), 23(2), 24, 27 and 85(7) |
|
... |
... |
... |
C2
Application of Act extended by Central Bank Act 1942 (22/1942), subss. 5A(4) to (9), as substituted (1.10.2010) by Central Bank Reform Act 2010 (23/2010), s. 14(1) and sch. 1 part 1 item 21, S.I. No. 469 of 2010.
General functions and powers of the Bank.
5A.— ...
(4) The functions of the Agency specified in subsection (5) are, in so far as they relate to a financial service provided by a regulated financial service provider, also functions of the Bank and subsections (6) to (8) have effect for the purposes of this subsection.
(5) The functions of the Agency referred to in subsection (4) are the following functions of it under the Consumer Protection Act 2007, namely, functions under—
(a) subsections (1), (4), (5) and (6) of section 8 of that Act in relation to—
(i) sections 41 to 49 and 51 to 56 of that Act, and
(ii) the European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) Regulations 1995 and 2000 (S.I. No. 27 of 1995 and S.I. No. 307 of 2000),
and
(b) sections 30, 71, 72, 73, 75, 81, 82, 84, 86, 88 and 90 of that Act.
(6) Subsection (4) operates to vest in the Bank, concurrently with the vesting in the Agency of those functions by the Consumer Protection Act 2007, the functions specified in subsection (5).
(7) Accordingly—
(a) the functions so specified are, subject to any relevant co-operation agreement entered into under section 21 of the Consumer Protection Act 2007, capable of being performed by either the Agency or the Bank, and
(b) subject to subsection (9), references to the Agency in the provisions of that Act specified in subsection (5) are to be read as including references to the Bank and those provisions otherwise apply.
(8) Subject to subsection (9), sections 80, 85 and 87 of the Consumer Protection Act 2007 apply to the Bank as they apply to the Agency and, accordingly, references to the Agency in those sections are to be read as including references to the Bank.
(9) Where any section of the Consumer Protection Act 2007 specified in subsection (5) or (8) provides for anything to be done in relation to the Agency (whether the giving of notice to it, the submitting of a thing to it or the doing of any other thing) then, if a co-operation agreement entered into under section 21 of that Act so specifies, it is sufficient compliance with the section concerned if the thing is done in relation to the Agency or the Bank as is specified in that agreement.
...
Editorial Notes:
E1
Note consumer protection provisions (21.03.2016) in European Union (Consumer Mortgage Credit Agreements) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 142 of 2016), in effect as per reg. 2.
E2
Power of National Consumer Agency to inspect and examine licence records for purposes of assisting with investigations into commercial practices connected with motor vehicles under Act prescribed (29.10.2013) by Finance Act 1993 (Section 60) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 414 of 2013), reg. 2 and sch.
E3
Note consumer protection provisions (15.03.2013) in European Union (Requirements for Credit Transfers and Direct Debits in Euro) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 132 of 2013), in effect as per reg. 1(2), as amended (26.04.2016) by European Union (Requirements for Credit Transfers and Direct Debits in Euro) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 204 of 2016).
E4
Act included in definition of “designated enactments” for purposes of Central Bank Act 1942 (22/1942) by Central Bank Act 1942 (22/1942), s. 2(1) and sch. 2 part 1 item 33, as substituted (1.10.2010) by Central Bank Reform Act 2010 (23/2010), s. 14(1) and sch. 1 part 1 items 6 and 82, S.I. No. 469 of 2010.
E5
National Consumer Agency designated as the competent authority under Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No. 2006/2004 of the European Parliament of the Council of 27 October 2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws, as amended, for the enforcement of certain laws that protect consumers’ interests under Act by European Communities (Cooperation between National Authorities Responsible for the Enforcement of Consumer Protection Laws) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 290 of 2006), reg. 4 and sch. items 6 and 16; as amended (1.08.2008) by European Communities (Cooperation between National Authorities Responsible for the Enforcement of Consumer Protection Laws) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (S.I. No. 316 of 2008), reg. 3(b) and (16.11.2012) by European Communities (Cooperation between National Authorities Responsible for the Enforcement of Consumer Protection Laws) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (S.I. No. 485 of 2012), reg. 3(c)(iv).