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The National Consumer Agency (NCA) ((アイルランド語:Gníomhaireacht Náisiúnta Tomhaltoirí)) was a statutory body that defended consumer interests in Ireland. == Background == The NCA's origins can be traced to the setting up of the Consumer Strategy Group (CSG) in March 2004.〔(Forfas Press Release )〕 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.〔(Consumer Protection Act 2007-Information from CitizensInformation.ie )〕 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.〔(Full list of amalgamations, on Department of Finance's Budget website )〕 The NCA's campaigns to date include 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〔(Article in The Irish Times )〕 and MCD Promoters〔(RTE article on MCD case ).〕 These interventions resulted in speedy and satisfactory resolutions to the benefit of consumers. http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/consumer-agency-pulls-drug-price-survey-over-errors-1.1343496 The agency has also carried out a series of price comparison surveys between leading supermarket chains, and cross-border comparisons of grocery items in stores' branches in the Republic and Northern Ireland. On 2 September 2008 the agency published draft guidelines for the retail sector about how they should advertise price reductions, and related matters such as how long an item needs to be on sale at a higher price before advertising it with a reduced price comparison. In December the same year there was a nationwide withdrawal of pigmeat from retail outlets after a dioxin contamination scare.〔(Food Safety Authority of Ireland alert )〕 The NCA successfully campaigned for full compensation for consumers after initial reluctance by some supermarket chains to refund products that were not their own brands. On 18 June 2009, Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan TD for the Irish Government established a single fully integrated regulatory institution, the Central Bank of Ireland. As part of this change, the Financial Regulator's consumer information and education role was reassigned to the National Consumer Agency.〔(Press release on the Department of Finance website )〕〔(Article in the Irish Times )〕〔(Article on BreakingNews.ie about the reform )〕 On 16 August 2010 the NCA published its response〔(NCA response to Department of Environment review of RPGs )〕 to the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government's Review of the Retail Planning Guidelines (RPGs) Issues Paper. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「National Consumer Agency」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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