Fine Gael MEP Brian Hayes has called on the European Commission to relax radio advertising regulations that require terms and conditions to be included in  ads concerning credit agreements.

The Fine Gael politician argued on Wednesday that this "Brussels red tape" is hurting Irish stations revenue, supporting the Independent Broadcaster of Ireland (IBI) stance on the issue.

"The best examples are adverts for bank loans, new cars and insurance products," he said. "Radio advertising is severely disadvantaged as it does not have the visual element enjoyed by other media sources such as print, web and television.”

“When you see an advert on TV from a car manufacture, the legal requirements for that advert are displayed in small print throughout the advert. This includes information such as the percentage of the loan interest and the required deposit. The same applies for adverts in newspapers and online.”

“Radio adverts are different. In order for radio stations to comply, they are required to read out the terms and conditions of every advert. This requirement means that a company who purchases 40 seconds of advertising can actually only advertise for 20 seconds as the remainder of the advert is filled with terms and conditions.” 

Hayes believes that consumers would be better advised if the advert ended with a message direction them to a website.

He confirmed that he had written to EC Vice President Frans Timmermans, asking him to investigate the current consumer credit directive.