Broken appliances and gadgets could soon be headed for the workbench instead of the bin, as new EU rules give Irish consumers a stronger “right to repair” rather than automatically replacing faulty products.
The legislation is designed to curb an estimated 35 million tonnes of waste generated across the bloc when consumer goods are thrown away prematurely.
Work and Technology Correspondent Brian O’Donovan told Behind the Story that the regulations require repairs to be carried out free of charge or for a reasonable fee, and 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?
In Washington, the pressure campaign on Iran is set to intensify after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed an “economic D-Day” with a fresh round of sanctions.
Nearly six months into the war, the conflict remains deadlocked, with neither side able to break the stalemate.
US President Donald Trump has also warned that any country offering “any type of lifeline to Iran” could face economic consequences.
Dr Michael Breen, Associate Professor in International Political Economy at the School of Law and Government at DCU, said the US appears to be turning to tougher sanctions because its naval blockade of Iran is failing to achieve its aims.
“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 warned the fallout could extend well beyond the region, with potential knock-on effects for oil prices worldwide.
“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
Iran’s key trading partners are also likely to blunt the impact of any new measures, Dr Breen said, pointing to countries such as China as likely to seek routes around restrictions.
“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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