asked the Minister for Labour if his attention has been drawn to a report (details supplied) dealing with the hazards of the oil industry; and if he proposes to introduce any legislation or regulations to prevent or reduce those hazards.
6.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Oil and Gas Industries Hazards.
1.
asked the Minister for Labour if he proposes to establish a register and a special system of notification of deaths, injuries and illnesses associated with the oil and gas industries and particularly in the off-shore industries.
7.
asked the Minister for Labour the inspectorate that he has available to him for supervision of work in the off-shore oil and gas industries; and when they were appointed.
I propose with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle to take Questions Nos. 1, 6 and 7 together.
I have a copy of the report in question.
The provisions of the Factories Act, 1955, apply to the on-shore operations of the oil and gas industries in regard to the maintenance of registers, the notification of deaths, injuries and illnesses and other matters relating to the safety, health and welfare of the workers.
With regard to off-shore activities, I am having separate legislation prepared under which I will be empowered to make regulations governing safety, health and welfare.
Five members of the industrial inspectorate with qualifications covering marine and civil engineering are available to me for work arising from the development of the off-shore oil and gas industries. Their lengths of service with the inspectorate range from four to 20 years.
The Minister will accept that this is an expensive business. Would he expect that the companies concerned would make some contribution to all this?
I should not like to offer a comment on that at the present time but it is worth considering.
2.
asked the Minister for Labour the facilities that are available for the pre-employment medical screening of those who propose to work in the off-shore oil and gas industry.
3.
Mr. Gibbons
asked the Minister for Labour if he proposes to make any regulations for the supervision of the health of those workers engaged in the exploration for oil and gas, particularly off-shore workers.
4.
asked the Minister for Labour if he will arrange for the training of medical staff and make it compulsory to have one on each rig in the off-shore oil and gas industry.
5.
asked the Minister for Labour if he will arrange for the training of surgical and medical personnel who may have to carry out their work in decompression chambers.
I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 together.
Measures aimed at ensuring the safety, health and welfare of workers engaged in off-shore oil and gas exploration, call for legislation separate from statues at present administered by me. I am, accordingly, preparing draft heads of a Bill to cover safety, health and welfare of workers engaged in off-shore oil and gas exploration. What I shall be aiming at will be legislation of an enabling character under which I can make a series of regulations governing specific matters including, where appropriate, those of the type mentioned by the Deputy, with flexibility to deal with possible changes that may take place in such matters as working procedures or techniques.
With regard to the question of decompression chambers, I am studying this matter in the general context of the safety implications of off-shore operations. The problems are of an international character and my Department has joined the European Diving Technology Committee whose purpose is to bring together expertise from different countries in the matter of personnel safety.
In addition, I have set up a working party on the manpower and training implications of off-shore oil and gas development. I cannot, at present, say what this working party might have to report in regard to decompression chambers and the back-up services needed in this area of diving operations. I shall, of course, be in contact with the Minister for Health in the matter.