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The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys today (Tuesday, 5th June 2018) announced that she is bringing forward proposals for legislation to introduce a minimum expiry date of five years for gift vouchers. 

Minister Humphreys said:

There’s no doubt that there are great advantages to gift vouchers. That said, Ireland has no legislation regulating their expiry dates, which causes confusion and worry to many consumers. This can be particularly frustrating where the vouchers themselves aren’t clear about their cut-off point.

The Minister continued:

For too long the waters have been muddied for consumers and businesses alike, so I want to act now to ensure clarity for everyone. For the last few months, I have been developing proposals to introduce a minimum expiry date of 5 years and I’m pleased to say that they are now an advanced stage. I will be going to Government to seek approval to draft a bill shortly.

The Minister concluded:

Every year, countless gift vouchers are lost or go out of date so I’m confident that these proposals can make a real difference to consumers for the better. Let’s face it - we’re all consumers and this is an issue that affects most of us, so I’m hopeful that the move can be agreed by all parties in the Oireachtas.