asked the Minister for Local Government whether he is aware that the road workers of the Louth County Council are required to maintain a regulation distance of 50 yards apart while employed, on the pretext that conversation impedes their work; that excessive loads per man hour for those feeding and taking from the stone-crushers are demanded to the detriment of the workers' health; that rubber boots and protective clothing are not provided by the council even for men compelled to work knee-deep in water; and, if so, whether he proposes issuing any directives or recommendations to the Louth Council to remedy these matters.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Louth Road Workers.
I am informed that there is a rule in County Louth that workers engaged on roadside cleaning and similar work should be spaced a distance apart and work in the same direction but no distance has been specified. This rule is, I understand, to be the subject of discussion between the Federation of Rural Workers and the council's officers. I am also informed that excessive loads are not demanded of men on stonecrushing work and that rubber boots and protective clothing are supplied where necessary. Where conditions of service give cause for complaint it would be of advantage if the union made representations locally. The Minister's intervention should be necessary only in cases in which a satisfactory settlement could not be reached between the parties immediately concerned.