Is the Cabinet drunk?
Minister Coughlan seems shocked by the implied suddenness of a proposed EU directive to protect consumers. (See what she says HERE).
Did nobody tell her of the EU strategy for consumers? (See it HERE).
And what of this item of bluster from her press release?:
…the current body of legislation is a mix of the 1893 pre Independence legislation and the 1980 Act together with secondary legislation deriving from EU Directives. This has made it difficult for consumers and businesses to understand their rights and obligations.”
From a consumer point of view there is no need to go back to 1893. We purported to update the 1893 Sale of Goods Act 1893 with the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 and to benefit Irish consumers thereby.
It’s just guff to try to blame Britain (specifically Gladstone, in fact!) for yet another Irish Government failure.
And what are we to make of the expert group? We already pay for the personnel of the Law Reform Commission. Why should we have to pay for another group of persons duplicating its work?
Is there a special agenda that the Law Reform Commission does not know of and cannot be trusted with?
Perhaps the Commission is in the dog-house because of its proposal to facilitate multi-party litigation? Does the Government not know that that is where the EU is going? (See it HERE).
What specific document has the Government received from the EU? Minister Coughlan will be at the Council of Ministers that ultimately approves/disapproves the draft directive. Has she received better notice than the public has? (See the EU proposal HERE).
If Irish consumers are uncertain what Minister Coughlan’s expert group are looking at, send an email to EU consumer commissioner Maglena Kuneva HERE.
Maybe, just maybe, she will tell us.