asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether any complaints have been received in his Department concerning the quality and safety of electrically operated goods including record players which in some cases are a hazard to human life; if he is aware that in certain cases such goods do not bear an indication of the country of origin or display a trade mark; and if these complaints have been investigated and, if so, if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Electrical Goods Hazards.
40.
Mr. Dunne
Complaints regarding the safety, and in this respect the quality, of electrical goods and record players are normally referred to the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards, who advise on desirable modifications where necessary. I am advised that the number of such complaints received by the institute averages round about three a year, and many of the complaints are of a minor nature. In such cases the institute's advice as to modification or withdrawal from the market has been accepted.
Imported electrical goods, other than electric kettles and batteries, are not required to bear an indication of origin, or trade mark, unless they bear names of Irish firms or markings suggestive of Irish origin.