Special Committee Factories Bill, 1954 debate -
Thursday, 3 Feb 1955

SECTION 34.

Mr. Larkin

I move amendment No. 25:—

Before sub-section (8) to insert a new sub-section as follows:—

(8) It shall be an offence under this Act to permit any person or persons to be carried or lifted by a lifting machine.

This involves the same principle as that involved in the earlier amendment. It seeks to make it a definite offence, clearly set out in the Act, to allow any persons to be carried by a lifting machine. I think this is very necessary because I am aware of one case where a man was lifted in a bucket-crane up to a height of 400 feet with the knowledge of the employer.

Mr. Lemass

It seems to me to be necessary to do more than to make it an offence on the part of the employer. I think it should be an offence for any person to allow himself to be lifted.

Mr. Larkin

I agree.

Mr. Norton

The amendment, as written, is really an oversimplification of the problem. I think the amendment is defective in that it does not provide, for example, proper exemption for the crane driver and gantry type of crane. There are lifting machines operating where a person is lifted in some type of building operations. I think it would be better if this problem were dealt with by regulations and the variations and exemptions taken up by the regulations. There is at present a prohibition of the kind envisaged in the amendment in paragraph 51 of the Building Trade Regulations, 1930. I agree that if we make it an offence to lift the fellow up we have got to make it an offence for the person lifted up. It is one of those things which can best be dealt with by regulations with that object in mind, prohibiting the use of this gear as a transport arrangement while exempting the fellow who has got to operate the gantry type of crane where he is lifted himself and used in the process of being swung to and fro along a gantry.

Mr. Lemass

Has the Minister power to make these regulations?

Mr. Norton

It comes under the Dangerous Trade Regulations.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Sections 34 to 36, inclusive, agreed to.