Consumer Policy Section: EU Legislation

EU Legislation

For areas that fall within the policy remit of Consumer Policy Section, information is provided on the EU legislation and the manner in which it has been transposed into Irish law. In other cases links to Government Departments/bodies that may be able to provide further information are included. It should be noted that, other than for the areas for which this Section is responsible, the following does not purport to be a comprehensive list of all the legislation that may exist under these general subject headings.

Areas covered:

Advertising	Packaging of products
Contracts (general, distance, timeshare)	Product Safety
Disputes	Financial Services
Labelling of products	Travel
Price display	Miscellaneous

Advertising

EU Legislation on

Corresponding Irish Legislation or Contact Point

Misleading and comparative advertising

Directive 2006/114/EC concerning misleading and comparative advertising (PDF, 76KB)

Consumer Protection Act 2007 (No. 19 of 2007) (PDF, 562KB)

European Communities (Misleading and Comparative Marketing Communications) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 774 of 2007)

Advertising of medicinal products

Department of Health and Children

Contracts

EU Legislation	Corresponding Irish Legislation or Contact Point
General contracts
Liability for defective products (Product Liability)	Liability for Defective Products Act 1991 European Communities (Liability for Defective Products) Regulations, 2000, (S.I. No. 401 of 2000)
Unfair terms in consumer contracts	European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) Regulations 1995, (S.I. No. 27 of 1995) European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) (Amendment) Regulations, 2000 (307 of 2000)
Sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees – Directive 1999/44/EC	European Communities (Certain Aspects of the Sale of Consumer Goods and Associated Guarantees) Regulations 2003 (S. I. No. 11 of 2003)
Distance contracts
Distance contracts	European Communities (Protection of Consumers in Respect of Contracts Made by Means of Distance Communications) Regulations 2001, (S.I. No. 207 of 2001) European Communities (Protection of Consumers in Respect of Contracts made by Means of Distance Communication) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 370 of 2010)(PDF, 100KB)
Distance contracts for financial services	European Communities (Protection of Consumers in Respect of Contracts Made by Means of Distance Communication) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 71 of 2005) (PDF, 104KB)
Contracts negotiated away from business premises	European Communities (Cancellation of Contracts Negotiated away from Business Premises) Regulations 1989, (S.I. No. 224 of 1989)
Timeshare contracts
Contracts relating to the purchase of the right to use immovable properties on a time-share basis	European Union (Protection of Consumers in Respect of Timeshare, Long-Term Holiday Product, Resale and Exchange Contracts) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 73 of 2011) (PDF, 165KB)

Dispute Resolution

EU Legislation on	Corresponding Irish Legislation or Contact Point
Injunctions	SI No. 555 of 2010 - European Communities (Court Orders for the Protection of Consumer Interests) Regulations 2010 (PDF, 113KB)

Labelling of products in the interest of consumers

EU Legislation on	Corresponding Irish Legislation or Contact Point
Foodstuffs	The functions of food labelling have been transferred to the Department of Health and Children since July 2003
Nutrition labelling rules	Department of Health and Children
Lot identification	Department of Health and Children
Organically grown products	Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Designations of origin	Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Quick-frozen food	Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Alcoholic beverages	Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Footwear	European Communities (Labelling of Footwear) Regulations 1996, (S.I. No. 63 of 1996)
Textile names	European Communities (Names and Labelling of Textile Products) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 485 of 2010) (PDF, 135KB) European Communities (Quantitative Analysis of Binary Textile Fibre Mixtures)(Amendment) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 486 of 2010) (PDF, 101KB)
Cosmetics	Department of Health and Children
Medicinal products	Department of Health and Children
Dangerous substances and preparations	Health and Safety Authority
Fuel consumption of new cars	Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Community eco-label	Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

Price Display

EU Legislation on	Corresponding Irish Legislation or Contact Point
Indication of the prices of products offered to consumers	European Communities (Requirements to Indicate Product Prices) Regulations 2002, S.I. No. 639 of 2002

Packaging of Products

EU Legislation on

Corresponding Irish Legislation or Contact Point

EU Directive 2007/45/EC laying down rules on nominal quantities for prepacked products, repealing Council Directives 75/106/EEC and 80/232/EEC, and amending Council Directive 76/211/EEC

S.I. No. 567 of 2008 Merchandise Marks Act 1970 (Prepacked Goods) (Marking and Quantities) (Revocation) Order 2008 (PDF, 100KB)

S.I. No. 566 of 2008 European Communities (Prepacked Products) Regulations 2008 (PDF, 109KB)

EC conformity marking

National Standards Authority of Ireland

Product Safety

EU Legislation on

Corresponding Irish Legislation or Contact Point

General product safety

Dangerous imitations of foodstuffs

Toy safety

Phthalate-containing soft PVC toys and childcare articles

National Consumer Agency

Explosives intended for civilian use

Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform

Financial services

EU Legislation on	Corresponding Irish Legislation or Contact Point
Financial services and the consumer	Department of Finance
Payment Services Directive	Department of Finance
Payment systems: relationship between card-holders and card-issuers	Department of Finance
Cross-border credit transfers	Department of Finance
Cross-border payments in euros	Department of Finance
Insurance	Department of Finance
Consumer credit	Consumer Credit Act 1995 See also section on the primary legislation and associated secondary legislation