Minister hoping to have new gift card laws in place in 12 months' time

The Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton says he hopes that new laws on gift card expiry dates will be in place by next Christmas.

Writing in the Irish Independent, Mr Bruton says that he hopes to bring legislation on gift cards and new customer protection measures to Cabinet in the near future.

Many people have let gift cards expire in the past, but new laws would ban expiry dates for cards and vouchers.

The minister also wants to introduce new legislation providing rights for people who download or stream digital content.