Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 12 Oct 2000

Vol. 524 No. 1

Written Answers. - Drug Screening.

Tom Enright

Question:

19 Mr. Enright asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plans she has to amend current employment legislation to make provision for the protection of employees against poorly validated drug screening procedures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21679/00]

Olivia Mitchell

Question:

26 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plans she has to introduce legislation to regulate drug testing of employees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21671/00]

Olivia Mitchell

Question:

33 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plans she has to regulate drug testing by employers of their staff; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21672/00]

Deirdre Clune

Question:

38 Ms Clune asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plans she has to amend the Employment Agency Act, 1971, to ensure protections are provided within the Act in relation to the disclosure of drug screening results to potential employers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21678/00]

Deirdre Clune

Question:

52 Ms Clune asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the current measures which are in place to protect the disclosure by an employer of the results of a drug screening test of a potential employee to a recruitment agency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21677/00]

Michael D'Arcy

Question:

67 Mr. D'Arcy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the current protections which are in place under employment legislation to ensure that an employee is not unfairly treated by an employer who screens staff for drugs; her views on whether the current protections are adequate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21675/00]

Andrew Boylan

Question:

74 Mr. Boylan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the research commissioned by her Department to validate drug testing procedures employed to screen potential candidates seeking employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21673/00]

Michael D'Arcy

Question:

77 Mr. D'Arcy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the current measures which are in place to protect the disclosure by an employer of the results of a drug screening test of an employee to other potential employers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21676/00]

Andrew Boylan

Question:

80 Mr. Boylan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the discussions her Department has had with the Department of Health and Children to standardise drug screening procedures employed by companies on their staff or potential staff; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21674/00]

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Mr. T. Kitt)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 19, 26, 33, 38, 52, 67, 74, 77 and 80 together.

Drug testing of employees and potential candidates seeking employment is not a feature of the Irish labour market. It is, I understand, a more common practice in the US.

I am advised that drug screening has no legal basis and cannot be carried out without a person's consent as, under our Constitution, it may be an infringement of human rights in relation to privacy and bodily integrity to do so. Even if it were a condition of a contract of employment that employees or potential employees were required to undergo drug screening, the prior consent of the employee would be required.

Furthermore, the retention of records by employers or disclosure of information to other potential employers would be in contravention of the Data Protection Act, 1988, which requires that all information held by employers should be relevant to the position held by the employee. In addition, there would also be breaches of the Freedom of Information Act, 1998, in relation to public servants if records relating to them were transferred to another employer.

Requiring some employees and not others to undergo drug screening would also be discriminatory under the Equality Act, 1998.

I can inform the House that there has not been any discussion between my Department and the Department of Health and Children in relation to drug screening of employees or potential employees.

Finally, because of the complexity of the issue, I have no proposals to introduce legislation to regulate drug testing of employees. I should say that any employee, whose employer is attempting to implement drug screening procedures, should refer the matter to the employment rights section of my Department. I would ask members of this House to provide me with any information they may have of any such cases, so that my labour inspectorate can check out the situation on the ground.