asked the Minister for Labour if he intends making available to safety representatives in industry a pack outlining the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Regulations, 1988.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Regulations.
8.
As no such regulations were made in 1988 I assume that the Deputy is referring to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill, 1988, which was passed by this House recently. It will be a matter for the national Authority to be established under the legislation to arrange for detailed publicity on the provisions of this legislation, when enacted. I have no doubt that the authority will have regard to the important role of safety representatives when issuing guidelines on the legislation.
Would the Minister be prepared to issue a directive to the new Authority to ensure that this information is made available as it is of vital importance that workers and employers should know their rights under this legislation?
The Bill includes provisions on the functions of safety representatives — that is not the only information the Deputy is seeking — in section 13, but it may and probably will be the Authority's wish to elaborate on these through guidelines and codes of practice or by regulations made by the Minister.
With regard to the provision of information, the most important and immediate task I will be asking the national Authority to undertake will be to ensure that all workers and employers are made aware of the provisions of the legislation and how it will affect them. It is envisaged that the national Authority will provide information about the Bill by way of publication of guidelines, codes of practice and regulations and through the medium of seminars and training courses where appropriate. I will be asking — not directing — the Authority, advising and requesting them to undertake a high profile for the contents of the Bill at the earliest date possible.
As this legislation contains quite a number of legal implications, it will be vital that the safety representatives be fully aware of all those implications.
I agree with the Deputy on that. Because of the important pivotal role of safety representatives the national Authority may consider them the most suitable channel for communications. There should be no disagreement on this either in this regard or in regard to giving a high profile to the contents of the Bill since all workers are covered by this legislation, the self-employed included.