The automatic right of consumers to demand the replacement of defective products is to be extended throughout the EU following a majority vote of Consumer Affairs ministers in Luxembourg yesterday. The Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Mr Tom Kitt, welcomed the agreement.
"The Irish consumer already has a higher level of protection than the EU average," he said. "What we have agreed today will ensure that the Irish consumer will enjoy the benefit of a defined minimum standard of protection in other EU countries."
The directive will effectively extend rights that Irish consumers already have under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act (1980) to purchases made throughout the Union.
While Britain and Ireland had both pressed for as consumer-friendly measures as possible, others, like Germany and the Netherlands, heavily influenced by the manufacturers, were trying to water down the directive.
They had sought to insist that manufacturers should be given a substantial chance to repair a product before the consumer could demand a replacement.
Mr Kitt backed the Commission view that the right to demand a replacement should be automatic. Germany and Denmark voted against the package.
The directive also puts the onus on the seller, whether of new or second-hand goods, to show that goods supplied conform to what was agreed with the consumer. The legal guarantee will cover a two-year period from delivery of goods.
The directive now goes to the European Parliament, which will probably seek even stronger consumer protection, before returning again to the Council of Ministers and then member-states for final enactment.
