Great news in the lead up to Christmas.

There really is nothing better than a gift voucher as a Christmas present. You're not taking the risk of getting someone a present that they might not like, while you're not just giving someone money either, which can feel a little bit impersonal at times. So get them a gift voucher for a place you know they like. The perfect balance. And if you're a fan of a good gift voucher, this news should be music to your ears. New legislation to extend consumer protections for people buying gift vouchers is to be in place before Christmas. According to RTÉ, a number of new protections will be put in place to ensure that gift cards have a minimum expiry of five years. So in future, you won't have to worry about that gift voucher that you've been letting gather dust going out of date anytime soon. A new ban will also be introduced to get rid of any potential requirement to spend a voucher in one transaction. These changes come after a Consumer Protection Bill was put forward after certain businesses imposed specific terms on gift vouchers. A nice Christmas present for all of the shoppers out there. There has been calls on the Government to ensure that the law is changed before Black Friday (29 November), as it is one of the busiest days of the year for shoppers, but it is expected to be brought in the next week or two instead.