A minimum five-year expiry date on gift cards to be proposed
The Minister of Business, Heather Humphreys wants to introduce a law for a minimum expiry date on gift cards.
The Minister's proposal needs government approval to put a minimum of a five-year expiry date on the popular gift.
Retailers currently can make their own policies surrounding the expiry date.
Depending on the place, this can be six months, a year and some consumers even experience monthly deductions for unused credit, according to the Independent.ie.
This isn't the first time a proposal of this kind has been put forward.
Former Minister, Richard Bruton wanted to legislate the area in 2015.
However, the Independent.ie reports that the Government held off, with expectations of the European Union addressing the problem and introducing laws in the sector.
Consumer groups have previously vocalised their desire for legislation surrounding gift card's expiry dates.
The Independent.ie alleged that a source told the media outlet that Ms Humphrey's proposal is in an "advanced" stage.
Taking to Twitter, the Minister confirmed her intentions of putting forward the new Irish regulation.
I'm proposing a minimum lifespan of five years for gift vouchers. We've all been there – lost a voucher, found it again & realised it's out of date. This is a real bugbear for consumers and we need rules to regulate it.
— Heather Humphreys (@HHumphreysFG) June 5, 2018
It is understood that she will address the Government within the coming weeks about the plan.
The European Commission in 2015 announced that they had intentions of launching two directives in the area.
This meant Bruton's law was side-lined as the Government thought it wouldn't be beneficial to introduce the law here, to have it amended by EU directives later on.
