Consumer Protection

This policy area sets out to ensure that citizens' consumer protection laws are held up and maintained. Consumer protection is about giving the citizen confidence and peace of mind when they purchase a good or service, and ensuring that they are not being misled.

Money burning a hole in your pocket? If you're heading off on a shopping spree, the EU wants to make sure it is a worry-free outing. As you browse the latest fashions – from the bargain bin to the designer rail – you can be confident of their quality.

If someone tries to pull a fast one or sell you a dud, you can do something about it because, as a citizen of the EU, you have consumer rights and protections.

Ok, so what does that mean for you?

Bought something dodgy from a shop?
Whether it's DIY tools or toys for the kiddies, EU laws makes sure that stuff sold in Ireland is up to seriously strict safety standards. When you pick up a product from the shelf, you might notice it has clear instructions in English and the label is not misleading – that’s thanks to the EU.

Brand new stuff broken down?
If your new mobile phone keeps switching itself off or your new telly goes on the blink, you can bring it back and get a refund or a replacement. It doesn't matter what the irate shop owner might say; as a European consumer, you can return faulty goods bought in any EU country.

As part of the EU, Ireland can even take on larger countries, for example China, from which faulty or dangerous goods are sometimes imported.

Food make you wanna throw up?
Nobody wants to endure a queasy tummy or worse caused by food poisoning. The EU works hard makes sure the food you eat is safe. We come up with quality standards across the European market, and if we find manky products, we stop them from hitting your supermarket shelves. Consider us your own private food detectives.

Get ripped off by a scam artist?
So many of us have met dodgy dealers who try to entrap us with false claims, scams and pyramid schemes. Our EU-wide Rapid Alert Systems (RAPEX) stop scams and below-par products from spreading across Europe. If an inferior product turns up in Greece, for example, we know about it straight away in Ireland and take swift action to stop the product from reaching Irish shoppers.

These aren't isolated occurrences. The EU is working every day to keep dodgy products out of our shops. In 2008 alone:

• 178 million illegal or dangerous goods were stopped by the EU.
• The RAPEX system flagged 1,866 products, with 1,545 being a serious risk to consumers. Of those, 59% came from China
• Toys made up 32% of the products flagged by RAPEX, followed by electrical goods (11%)
• Due to better monitoring and cooperation, products caught by the system rose by 16% from 2007

What about holiday shopping?

Your safety doesn’t end when you cross the water, or the border. Whether you're shopping online or picking up a few souvenirs on holidays, you can buy confidently from retailers in any EU country. That’s right, even there you’re safeguarded by EU consumer protection laws. We want to make sure you can shop happily so we do lots of things like:

• Constant monitoring of new products to ensure they don't mislead consumers
• Increased co-operation using the Rapid Alert System (RAPEX) for dangerous products
• Heightened crackdown on misleading labels on products in Irish supermarkets, thereby ensuring their use and function is clearly stated
• Further empowering European consumers, by ensuring they know their rights