Distributes a software product, in Ireland

Liability for Defective Products Act 1991 (No. 28 of 1991) · Read the law's page

• The Act defines a product as all movables, including a movable incorporated into another product as a component part or raw material, and electricity where a failure in its generation causes damage; it is open whether that reaches software supplied on its own, and a court must construe the Act to give effect to Directive 85/374/EEC (section 1(1) and (3)).
• If you manufacture a finished product, a component or a raw material, put your name or trade mark on a product as if you made it, or import a product into a Member State from outside the European Communities to supply it in the course of business, you are liable in damages in tort for the damage a defect in it causes, jointly and severally with any other person liable (sections 2(1), 2(2) and 8).
• If you only supply a product and the producer cannot by reasonable steps be identified, answer an injured person's request within a reasonable time by identifying the producer or the person who supplied it to you, or you are liable as the producer (section 2(3)).
• A product is defective if it fails to provide the safety a person is entitled to expect, taking all circumstances into account, including its presentation, the use it could reasonably be expected to be put to and when it was put into circulation (section 5(1)).
• Be able to prove the defense you rely on, such as that you did not put the product into circulation, that the defect probably did not exist when you did, that it is due to compliance with a legal requirement, or that the state of scientific and technical knowledge did not allow it to be discovered (section 6(a), (b), (d) and (e)).
• Do not rely on a contract term, a notice or any other provision to limit or exclude this liability to an injured person (section 10).
• Claims cover death, personal injury and loss of or damage to property of a type ordinarily intended for private use and used mainly privately, but not the product itself, and for property damage only the amount above £350 is awarded (sections 1(1) and 3(1)).
• A claim must be brought within three years of the later of when it accrued and when the plaintiff became or should have become aware of the damage, the defect and the producer's identity, and the right of action is extinguished ten years after you put the actual product into circulation unless proceedings were begun against you (section 7(1) and (2)).

S.I. No. 636 of 2023, Regs. 11, 12 and 13, distributors under the European Union (Accessibility Requirements of Products and Services) Regulations 2023 · Read the law's page

• If you are a distributor, act with due care in relation to the accessibility requirements of the Regulations when you make a product listed in Regulation 3(1) available on the market (Reg. 11(1)).
• Before making a product available, verify that it bears the CE marking, is accompanied by the documents Regulation 8 specifies and by instructions and safety information in a language easily understood by consumers and other end-users, and that the manufacturer and importer have marked their identification details as Regulations 8(2)(d) and (e) and 10(2)(f) require (Reg. 11(2)).
• If you consider or have reason to believe that a product is not in conformity, do not make it available until it has been brought into conformity, and inform the manufacturer or the importer and the market surveillance authority (Reg. 11(3) and (4)).
• Do not let storage or transport conditions jeopardise the product's compliance while it is under your responsibility (Reg. 11(5)).
• If you consider or have reason to believe that a product you have made available is not in conformity, take the corrective measures needed or withdraw it, and immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States where you made it available, with details of the non-compliance and the corrective measures (Reg. 11(6)(a) and (b)).
• On a reasoned notice from the market surveillance authority, give it all the information and documentation needed to show the product conforms, and cooperate on action to eliminate the non-compliance; the authority may direct you to provide them if you do not (Reg. 11(6)(c) and (d) and 11(7)).
• If you place a product on the market under your own name or trade mark, or modify a product already placed on the market in a way that may affect compliance, meet the duties of a manufacturer under Regulation 8 (Reg. 12).
• On request from the market surveillance authority, identify any economic operator that supplied you with a product and any to which you supplied one, and be able to present that information for 5 years after the supply (Reg. 13(1) and (2)).

S.I. No. 636 of 2023, Regs. 15, 20(2) and 24(2) and Schedule 4, fundamental alteration and disproportionate burden under the European Union (Accessibility Requirements of Products and Services) Regulations 2023 · Read the law's page

• If you want to rely on the fundamental-alteration or disproportionate-burden limit on the accessibility requirements, carry out an assessment first; the requirements apply to your product or service only to the extent that compliance would not fundamentally alter its basic nature or impose a disproportionate burden on you (Reg. 15(1) and (2)).
• Base the disproportionate-burden assessment on the criteria in Schedule 4, including the ratio of the net costs of compliance to the overall costs of manufacturing, distributing, importing or providing the product or service, the estimated costs and benefits against the benefit for persons with disabilities, and the ratio of the net costs of compliance to your net turnover (Reg. 15(3) and Schedule 4).
• Document the assessment, keep a written record of its relevant results for 5 years after the product was last made available or the service was last provided, and give a copy to the market surveillance authority for a product or the relevant compliance authority for a service on request (Reg. 15(4)).
• If you are a microenterprise (an enterprise which employs fewer than 10 persons and which has an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 2 million or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 2 million) that deals with products and relies on the limit, you need not keep the record under Regulation 15(4) but must give the market surveillance authority the facts relevant to the assessment if it asks (Reg. 15(5) and (6)).
• If you provide a service and rely on the disproportionate-burden limit, renew the assessment for each category or type of service when the service you offer is altered or the relevant compliance authority asks, and in any event at least every 5 years (Reg. 15(7)).
• Do not rely on the disproportionate-burden limit if you receive funding, public or private, from sources other than your own resources that is provided for the purpose of improving accessibility (Reg. 15(8)).
• If you place a product on the market or provide a service in the State and rely on the limit, inform the market surveillance authority for a product or the relevant compliance authority for a service that you do; this duty does not apply to a microenterprise (Reg. 15(9) and (10)).
• If a relevant authority asks for a copy of the assessment or for the facts relevant to it and you do not provide it in time, the authority may direct you to provide the information or documentation concerned (Reg. 15(11)).

S.I. No. 636 of 2023, Regs. 20 to 24, 27 to 36 and 41, enforcement under the European Union (Accessibility Requirements of Products and Services) Regulations 2023 · Read the law's page

• If a relevant authority gives you a direction under the Regulations, comply with it within the period it specifies and tell the authority in writing, no later than 7 days after that period ends, that you have complied (Reg. 27(6) and (7)).
• If the market surveillance authority directs you to take corrective action on a product, or a relevant compliance authority directs you to take corrective action on a service, take it within the period specified; if the market surveillance authority then directs you to withdraw the product from the market, withdraw it (Regs. 21(3) and (4), 23(1) and 24(4)).
• Cooperate fully with the market surveillance authority when it evaluates a product (Reg. 21(2)) and with the relevant compliance authority when it checks a service (Reg. 24(3)).
• If the market surveillance authority directs you to take corrective action on a product, make sure all appropriate corrective action is taken for every such product you have made available on the market throughout the Union (Reg. 21(6)).
• Do not obstruct or interfere with an authorised officer, do not fail without reasonable excuse to comply with the officer's request, and do not make a statement to the officer that you know is false or misleading (Reg. 31(13)).
• Do not give a relevant authority information, in purported compliance with a requirement under the Regulations, that you know or ought reasonably to know is false or misleading in a material respect (Reg. 32(5)).
• Comply with an order of the Circuit Court under Regulation 29 or 30 unless you have a reasonable excuse (Reg. 32(3)(b)).

S.I. No. 636 of 2023, Regs. 5(1) and (2), 8, 9, 13, 17 and 19, manufacturers and authorised representatives under the European Union (Accessibility Requirements of Products and Services) Regulations 2023 · Read the law's page

• If you are a manufacturer that places a product listed in Regulation 3(1) on the market on or after 28 June 2025, design and manufacture it in accordance with the accessibility requirements of Part 1 of Schedule 1 and, unless it is a self-service terminal, Part 2 of Schedule 1 (Regs. 3(1), 5(1), 5(2) and 8(1)).
• Under Part 1 of Schedule 1, give the information on the product, and the instructions for use made available elsewhere (including the accessibility functions and their interoperability with assistive solutions), via more than one sensory channel, understandably and perceivably, in fonts of adequate size and contrast, in text formats that can generate alternative assistive formats, with an alternative to non-textual content and a description of the user interface, functionality and the assistive devices tested with the product; design the user interface so that it offers more than one sensory channel, alternatives to speech, colour and audible signals, flexible magnification, brightness and contrast, user control of volume and speed, alternatives to fine motor control and to biometric identification, enough time for interaction, protection of privacy when accessibility features are used, no triggering of photosensitive seizures, and software and hardware for interfacing with assistive technologies (Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraphs 1 and 2).
• Meet the sector-specific product requirements: self-service terminals provide text-to-speech, allow personal headsets, alert timed responses through more than one sensory channel and allow more time, and do not require an accessibility feature to be activated before a user can turn it on; e-readers provide text-to-speech; consumer terminal equipment for electronic communications services handles real time text with high fidelity audio, handles total conversation where it has video capability, and couples effectively to hearing technologies; and terminal equipment for accessing audiovisual media services makes the access components of the audiovisual media service available to persons with disabilities (Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2(i)(vii)).
• For products other than self-service terminals, make the packaging and the information in it accessible, and make instructions for installation, maintenance, storage and disposal that are not provided on the product publicly available, when it is placed on the market, in the same accessible forms (Schedule 1, Part 2).
• Before placing the product on the market, draw up the technical documentation under paragraph 2 of Schedule 2, carry out the conformity assessment procedure in Schedule 2 or have it carried out, and, once compliance is demonstrated, draw up an EU declaration of conformity and affix the CE marking (Reg. 8(2)(a) to (c)).
• Give the product a type, batch or serial number, indicate on it, or where that is not possible on its packaging or in a document accompanying it, your name, registered trade name or trade mark and your address, in a language easily understood by end-users and the market surveillance authority and indicating a single point at which you can be contacted, and supply instructions and safety information in the Irish and English languages or in English only, clear, understandable and intelligible (Reg. 8(2)(d) to (g)).
• Keep procedures in place so that series production stays in conformity, having regard to changes in product design or characteristics and in the harmonised standards or technical specifications by which conformity is declared (Reg. 8(3)).
• Keep the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity for 5 years after the product has been placed on the market (Reg. 8(4)(a)).
• If you consider or have reason to believe that the product is not in conformity, immediately take the corrective measures needed or, if appropriate, withdraw it; immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States where you made it available, with details of the non-compliance and the corrective measures; and keep a register of non-complying products and related complaints (Reg. 8(4)(b) to (d)).
• On a reasoned notice from the market surveillance authority, give it, in a language it can easily understand, all the information and documentation needed to show the product conforms, and cooperate with it on action to eliminate non-compliance; the authority may direct you to provide them if you do not (Reg. 8(4)(e) and (f) and 8(5)).
• Make the EU declaration of conformity state that fulfilment of the applicable accessibility requirements has been demonstrated and which requirements, if Regulation 15 was relied on, are subject to the exception; use the model structure in Schedule 5; keep it continuously updated; and translate it into both the Irish and English languages or English only when the product is placed or made available on the market in the State (Reg. 17(1)).
• For a product subject to more than one Union act requiring an EU declaration of conformity, draw up a single EU declaration of conformity that identifies the Union acts, with their publication references (Reg. 17(2) and (3)).
• Affix the CE marking visibly, legibly and indelibly to the product or its data plate, or, where that is not possible or warranted, to the packaging and accompanying documents, before the product is placed on the market, and do not affix any sign, marking or inscription likely to mislead third parties as to its meaning or form or to impair its visibility, legibility or meaning (Reg. 19(1) to (4)).
• On request from the market surveillance authority, identify any economic operator that supplied you with a product and any to which you supplied one, and be able to present that information for 5 years after the supply (Reg. 13(1) and (2)).
• If you appoint an authorised representative by written mandate, let the mandate permit it, at least, to keep the EU declaration of conformity and technical documentation at the disposal of the market surveillance authority for 5 years, to provide information and documentation on a reasoned request, and to cooperate on action to eliminate non-compliance; the mandate cannot cover the duties in Regulation 8(1) and (2)(a) (Reg. 9(3) and (4)).

S.I. No. 636 of 2023, Regs. 5(1), 10, 12 and 13, importers under the European Union (Accessibility Requirements of Products and Services) Regulations 2023 · Read the law's page

• If you are an importer, place on the market only products listed in Regulation 3(1) that comply with the applicable accessibility requirements (Regs. 5(1) and 10(1)).
• Before placing a product on the market, make sure the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation and carried out the conformity assessment procedure, the product bears the CE marking and is accompanied by the documents Regulation 8 requires, the manufacturer has marked its identification and contact details, and the product is marked with your name, registered trade name or trade mark and address, with instructions and safety information that meet Regulation 8(2)(f) and (g) (Reg. 10(2)).
• If you consider or have reason to believe that a product is not in conformity, do not place it on the market until it has been brought into conformity, and inform the manufacturer and the market surveillance authority (Reg. 10(3) and (4)).
• Do not let storage or transport conditions jeopardise the product's compliance while it is under your responsibility (Reg. 10(5)).
• Keep a copy of the EU declaration of conformity at the disposal of the market surveillance authority for 5 years after the product is placed on the market, and be able to make the technical documentation available on request (Reg. 10(6)(a)).
• If you consider or have reason to believe that a product you have placed on the market is not in conformity, immediately take the corrective measures needed or withdraw it, immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States where you made it available, and keep a register of non-complying products and related complaints (Reg. 10(6)(b) to (d)).
• On a reasoned notice from the market surveillance authority, give it all the information and documentation needed to show the product conforms, in a language it can easily understand, and cooperate on action to eliminate the non-compliance; the authority may direct you to provide them if you do not (Reg. 10(6)(e) and (f) and 10(7)).
• If you place a product on the market under your own name or trade mark, or modify a product already placed on the market in a way that may affect compliance, meet the duties of a manufacturer under Regulation 8 (Reg. 12).
• On request from the market surveillance authority, identify any economic operator that supplied you with a product and any to which you supplied one, and be able to present that information for 5 years after the supply (Reg. 13(1) and (2)).

S.I. No. 14 of 2026, regs. 4(5) and 58 · Read the law's page

• If you make available on the Irish market, or put into service, radio equipment in a class or category covered by a Commission delegated act under Article 3(3) of the Radio Equipment Directive, make it comply with the Article 3(3)(a) to (i) essential requirements that the delegated act requires (S.I. No. 14 of 2026, regulation 4(5)).
• Make radio equipment available on the market, or put it into service, only if it complies with the Regulations, when properly installed, maintained and used in accordance with its intended purpose (regulation 4(3) and (4)).