Vol. 334 No. 7
asked the Minister for Industry and Energy if he has received complaints about the substandard furniture being sold in certain retail outlets in this country which does not come up to recognised standards and which is unacceptable in other European countries.
25.
asked the Minister for Industry and Energy if his Department have specific standards for household furniture.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 24 and 25 together.
The following standards for furniture have been made by the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards, with the consent of the Minister:
|
Standard No. |
Date |
Title |
|
I.S. 128 |
1964 |
Performance requirements of fabrics described as of low flammability |
|
I.S. 140 |
1965 |
School canteen and classroom tables and chairs; |
|
I.S. 144 |
1965 |
Office desks, tables and chairs; |
|
I.S. 159 |
1967 |
Polyester-type urethane foam for cushioning; |
|
I.S. 169 |
1970 |
Upholstery fabric; |
|
I.S. 170 |
1970 |
Household furniture; |
|
I.S. 244 |
1980 |
Requirements for smoulder and flame resistant upholstery. |
Of these standards, I.S. 244 only of 1980 is mandatory. The others are voluntary standards. It is a matter for the purchaser to ascertain that the furniture concerned conforms to the relevant standard.
Complaints regarding substandard furniture offered for sale have not been received recently. The IIRS constantly monitor furniture on sale and, where necessary, draw the attention of both the public and manufacturers/importers to any article found to be unsafe or hazardous.
Can the Minister inform the House of the level of imports of furniture over the last two years? Has the level increased?
I would not have that information available to me. The subject matter is really proper to a separate question but I will ascertain the information and communicate it to the Deputy.
Would the Minister not agree that it is not really a very satisfactory position to find that it is up to the purchaser to ascertain whether the furniture in question complies with those standards?
I might add that the IIRS monitor the furniture on sale and, where they find it to be defective in any way, bring that to the notice of the public so they in turn can be on the watch out for particular brands of furniture. Where there are any complaints lodged in relation to furniture, or if anybody who has any knowledge of such, including Deputies B. Allen and Dukes, the IIRS will be only too happy to examine the standards and do something about it. That is the position obtaining.
In the absence of figures for imports, would the Minister agree that, since the level of advertising of imported furniture has increased dramatically in the last year, presumably the level of imports has also risen accordingly? Would the Minister investigate the inherent grave threat to our traditional furniture manufacturing industry?
In the absence of the figures on the import side I am not in a position to give a very definitive answer in that regard. I would point out to the Deputy that one of the ongoing complaints from the furniture industry for some time past has been the disadvantage at which they find themselves on the Irish market vis-a-vis value-added tax on imports not being paid at the point of entry. That situation was corrected in the recent budget and puts the Irish furniture industry on a level footing in a competitive sense with their foreign counterparts. That was one of the running sores of the furniture industry. Information is not available to me on the file in relation to the upsurge of imports, but I shall be glad to communicate it to the Deputy.
Would the Minister not consider providing that furniture which is manufactured and sold, or even put on sale in this country, should bear a label or an indication to the effect that it complies with at least our one single mandatory standard? Would the Minister not consider further the question of whether some of the other standards should not also be made mandatory?
The question of standards relating to quality are voluntary and are there for the purchaser to decide. Standards covering safety aspects of furniture certainly can be made mandatory but it is a matter for the Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism, not one for me, to make any particular standard mandatory.
Has the Minister been in communication with the Director of Consumer Affairs in regard to complaints, because my information is that there have been a lot of complaints about the standards of imported furniture, which now constitute a grave threat to our traditional furniture manufacturing industry? Such representations have been made to me and I presume they must have been made to the Minister also.
I shall be only too glad to take up with the Director of Consumer Affairs the situation in relation to complaints and, having ascertained that, to refer those complaints to the IIRS.
