National Consumer Agency
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| State Agency of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1 May 2007 |
| Dissolved | 31 October 2014 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Headquarters | 4 Harcourt Road, Dublin 2 |
| State Agency of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation executives |
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| Website | NCA website |
The National Consumer Agency (NCA) (Irish: Gníomhaireacht Náisiúnta Tomhaltoirí) was a statutory body enforcing consumer protection in Ireland from 2007 to 2014, when it amalgamated with the Competition Authority to form the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
The NCA was preceded by the office of Director of Consumer Affairs established by the Consumer Information Act 1978, which was a civil service office under the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy.
The NCA's origins can be traced to the setting up of the Consumer Strategy Group (CSG) in March 2004. The Consumer Protection Act 2007 implemented many of the group's recommendations, including replacing the Director of Consumer Affairs with an independent agency.
The CSG presented its report, “Making Consumers Count”, to the then Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, in April 2005. Among the report's key recommendations was the establishment of a new agency to champion consumer rights.
The NCA was set up on an interim basis in May 2005, and established on a statutory footing on 1 May 2007. Its first chief executive was Ann Fitzgerald, a former chief executive of the Irish Association of Investment Managers. She also chaired the Consumer Strategy Group.
The Irish government announced in its 2009 Budget on 14 October 2008 that the NCA would be amalgamated with the Competition Authority, as part of a rationalisation programme that will reduce the number of state agencies in the country by 41.
The NCA's campaigns included naming and shaming retailers who are caught breaking consumer law, preventing car dealers "clocking" second-hand cars (altering vehicles' odometers), and intervention in high-profile consumer disputes including ones with NTL Ireland, Aer Lingus and MCD Promoters These interventions resulted in speedy and satisfactory resolutions to the benefit of consumers.
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