asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if his attention has been drawn to a reported decision by Eolas to suspend testing of certain furniture products; the fact that public service offices and Government Departments will not purchase furniture products unless they have certificates of adequacy in a variety of respects; to the fact that advice was given to Irish manufacturers that in future they would have to seek such a certificate in England; and if he will ensure that the services of Eolas in this respect are continued in order to ensure that Irish manufacturers can have independent verification of standards, without having to go outside the country, particularly in the context of the approach to 1992 where the certification of Irish products abroad would leave Irish industry very vulnerable.
Written Answers. - Certification of Furniture Products.
While I have no direct function in the day-to-day activities of Eolas such as the allocation of its staff and resources, I understand that that agency have decided to close down the furniture testing service.
There are now over 1,000 standards in the catalogue of the National Standards Authority of Ireland and this number is expected to increase substantially over the next few years.
It would not be possible for Eolas itself to provide the testing services for all of these. Nevertheless, it is a function of Eolas to arrange to have alternative testing carried out in situations where it does not have in-house testing facilities.
I am assured by the agency that arrangements will be made to have any products, including furniture, submitted to it tested to the relevant standard. These arrangements which might in certain circumstances entail testing abroad, should provide for the certification needs of Irish producers generally including suppliers of furniture to public service entities.