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GAZETTE
A
PRIL
1990
SMA LL C LA I MS COURTS
The Minister for Industry and
Commerce, Desmond O'Malley
disclosed in an unscripted session
at the launching of the book
Consumer Power
by Colin Bird of
the Office of Consumer Affairs and
Fair Trade and Joe Hogarty of the
Curriculum Development Unit of
Trinity College on May 24, 1990
that a Small Claims Courts system
would be established in Ireland
within two years.
The Minister stated that the new
courts would not be chaired by
District Justices but by lay persons
and would deal with disputes
involving relatively small amounts
of money. The emphasis would be
on a speedy decision involving the
minimum expense for the parties in
the dispute. Mr. O'Malley stated
that he would work with the
Minister for Justice, Ray Burke, to
establish the system and would be
contacting the Finance Minister,
Albert Reynolds, to seek the
necessary funding.
Although legislation concerning
changes in the courts systems was
notoriously slow, Mr. O'Malley said
he intended to bring about the
setting up of the small claims
courts "within one or two years".
The Minister conceded that the
new court system would "cost
money" but this would be
recouped by more efficient
functioning of the existing courts
system.
Mr. O'Malley said two other
measures were planned to help
consumers. He intends to bring into
law the provisions of the EC
Directive on defective goods and a
Directive currently being devised by
the EC to give a better deal to
consumers in the area of loans and
credit will be ready, shortly, to be
introduced in Ireland.
LAUNCH OF GU I DEL I NES ON
SA F E TY S T A T EME N TS A ND
G U I D E L I N ES
ON
S A F E T Y
CONSULTAT ION AND SAFE TY
REPRESENTAT IVES
Guidelines on the safety state-
ments and on the safety consulta-
tion and representation system
required under the
Safety
Health
and Welfare at Work Act, 1989
were published on May 23, 1990
by the Health and Safety Authority
("H.S.A."). The Guidelines were
drawn up by the first Advisory
Committee set up by the H.S.A. and
drawn from trade unions, industry,
construction, safety managers,
insurance interests and the H.S.A.
staff. "They are based on the
experience of those directly
involved in the workplace" said
H.S.A. Chairman, Mr. Paddy
Donnelly, at the launch. "They have
been drafted in simple layperson's
terms and provide relatively easy
access to the answers to some of
the common queries or concerns
which may arise".
The fundamental aim of the
Safety, Health and Welfare at Work
Act,
1989
is the prevention of
accidents and ill health at the place
of work. The Act, which applies to
all employers, employees and the
self-employed, sets out general
"duties of care" for each of these
parties. Employers are required to
identify the hazards and assess the
risks in the place of work, and to
draw up a written Safety State-
ment setting out the arrangements
in place to safeguard safety and
health, along with the co-operation
required from employees to achieve
this. The 1989 Act came into force
on November 1, 1989.
Consultation on safety and
health matters at the workplace is
a key factor of the
Safety,
Health
and Welfare at Work Act, 1989.
The Guidelines on Safety Consulta-
tion and Safety Representatives are
intended to assist employers and
employees in utilising the con-
sultation provisions in section 13 of
the 1989 Act as fully as possible.
There is a twofold approach in-
volved in the consultation process.
Firstly, employers are required to
consult their employees in est-
ablishing arrangements for secur-
ing co-operation in the workplace
on safety, health and welfare.
Employees have a corresponding
right to consult their employers and
to make representations to them on
issues of workplace safety and
health. Secondly, employees may
also appoint a Safety Repre-
sentative at their workplace who
may make representations on their
behalf and carry out other
functions.
The Guidelines provide advice on
how general consultations on
Safety and health in the workplace
might be conducted. The 1989 Act
sets out no specific consultation
mechanism but allows for flexibility
so that the particular character-
istics of the employment or
workplace can be taken into
account.
The Guidelines outline the overall
function of Safety Representatives,
their role in relation to investigating
accidents and dangerous occur-
rences, carrying out inspections
and consulting with Health and
Safety Inspectors. Key issues such
as information for and training of
Safety Representatives are also
covered.
Copies of the Guidelines on (a)
Safety Statements and (b) Safety
Consultation and Safety Rep-
resentatives are available free of
charge from the Health and
Safety Authority, Davitt House,
Mespil Road, Dublin 4. (Telephone
183