New EU rules mean Irish consumers have a ‘right to repair’ rather than replace products that break.
The move is aimed at tackling the estimated 35 million tonnes of waste that premature disposal of consumer goods generates across the bloc.
Work and Technology Correspondent Brian O’Donovan told Behind the Story the repairs must be done for free or at a reasonable price, within a reasonable timeframe.
“It can vary by product; it can vary by manufacturer,” he explained.
“There’s also a wider issue here – many people would say that devices are almost designed to break, that over a period of time it will wind down.
“Under these new rules, manufacturers will not be allowed to design things to break or make it unnecessarily difficult to repair the item.”
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Can sanctions work?
The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has pledged “economic D-Day” against Iran with a new round of sanctions.
Almost six months into the war, the two sides are locked in a stalemate.
US President Donald Trump also warned of economic consequences against any country that provides “any type of lifeline to Iran”.
Associate Professor in International Political Economy of the School of Law and Government at DCU, Dr Michael Breen, believes the US is moving to further sanctions as their naval blockade of Iran is not working.
“It’s a US attempt to try and get a reaction from the Iranians and get them back to negotiations because the blockade isn’t working,” he said.
“This kind of approach does not really succeed that well; sanctions take far too long to work.
“I just don’t think the US have the luxury of time on their side here.”
Oil prices
Dr Breen said there could be knock-on effects on oil prices globally.
“Really the world economy is in peril unless they can solve this in the next couple of months,” he said.
“We mightn’t see oil shortages here in Europe, or the United States immediately, but we could see a huge burst of inflation if oil really stops flowing for a couple of months.
“The US really need to solve this – and Iran, from their position, they just need to wait until they can get the best deal possible.”
Trading with Iran
Dr Breen said Iran’s main trading partners – such as China – will likely find ways around the sanctions.
“They’re still going to do business with Iran, and they’ll find ways to do that outside of the US dollar system,” he said.
“They can trade oil with the Iranians using the Chinese currency instead.
“I don’t see Russia playing ball with these sanctions, I think Turkey probably doesn’t want Iran to go under and even the United Arab Emirates are going to have a difficult time economically isolating Iran.”
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