Consumer Credit Act, 1995

Application.

3.—(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), this Act shall apply to all credit agreements, hire-purchase agreements and consumer-hire agreements to which a consumer is a party.

(2) This Act shall not apply to the following, that is to say—

(a) a credit agreement in relation to credit granted or intended to be granted by—

(i) a society which is registered as a credit union under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, 1893 to 1978, by virtue of the Credit Union Act, 1966 ,

(ii) any registered society within the meaning of the Friendly Societies Acts, 1896 to 1977,

(b) a credit agreement in the form of an authentic act signed before a notary public or a judge,

(c) a loan made by a pawnbroker under the Pawnbrokers Act, 1964 (as amended by Part XV ),

(d) an agreement for the provision on a continuing basis of a service or a utility where the consumer has the right to pay for it, by means of instalments or deferred payments,

(e) credit granted or made available without payment of interest or any other charge other than by a seller of goods who has invited by advertisement consumers to avail of such credit,

(f) a credit agreement other than a credit agreement operated by means of a credit card under which no interest is charged provided the consumer agrees to repay the credit in a single payment, or

(g) a credit agreement between an employer and an employee made on terms which are more favourable to the employee than terms offered generally to the public in the normal course of business.

(3) (a) The provisions of this Act may only be applied to housing loans advanced by local authorities, within the meaning of the Local Government Act, 1941 , by regulations made by the Minister after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, and different provisions may be applied at different times to different classes of loans, by reference to such matters as the Minister considers appropriate.

(b) A loan, not secured by mortgage, made by a local authority for the purposes of carrying out improvement works (within the meaning of section 1 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 ) to a house shall be regarded as a housing loan (within the meaning of this Act) for the purposes of this Act.