Special Committee Factories Bill, 1954 debate -
Friday, 11 Feb 1955

SECTION 78.

Mr. J. Larkin

I move amendment No. 54 :—

To delete sub-section (9).

This is one of my last ditch stands against regulations. Sub-section (9) gives power to the Minister by regulations to exempt from the operation of this section any class or description of factory in which mechanical power is not used. Again it is the question of making acceptable provisions for the protection, in this case, of young persons and leaving the Minister power to exempt certain classes of factories from these very desirable provisions. Again it is a question that I still do not like this power of exclusion that is given in so many sections to the Minister. I still feel that if the section as it stands is good, I know of no good reason why it should not be made applicable particularly in respect of this section.

Mr. Lemass

It seems to me the power of exemption in this section is somewhat different from that in others. The purpose of this section is to protect young people against themselves or against the undesirable consequences of the desire of their parents to get them quickly into earning employment. The section provides protection for young persons by prescribing that they shall not remain in industrial employment unless they are medically fit for it and subjecting them to examination to ensure that they continue fit for the period. It seems to me, at first sight at any rate, that that protection for young persons should be enforced irrespective of the nature of the industrial work carried out by the factory or whether mechanical power is used or not.

Mr. Norton

The position is that the existing requirement of a pre-entry medical examination of persons under 16 years of age applies only to factories proper and does not apply to the premises where no mechanical power is used. It is, therefore, a pretty long step to include all workshops in the new and extended provisions of this Bill. This sub-section (9) does not give the Minister power of automatic exemption in respect of workshops. It only creates power in the Minister to make regulations to exempt a class or description of workshop. It is very largely a precautionary provision because of the considerable extension of the provisions of this section over the existing legislation on the subject. If the odd case should turn up where it would be desirable to use the power, there would be no provision for doing so unless this sub-section remains in the Bill. As I said, it is just a precautionary provision.

Mr. J. Larkin

But it is a precautionary provision in the reverse direction, that is, to have the power to deal with the odd case that may turn up so as to exempt them, not to apply the provisions. We are dealing here with a very basic matter, that is, purely the health of young people and, as Deputy Lemass said, to try to safeguard them against pressure, in many cases by their own parents. Quite clearly, the very fact that we are suggesting that this should be applicable to factories not using mechanical power seems to be the most objectionable feature because they are the type of workshops probably most liable to take in young persons with little regard to their health and where there is probably most pressure for young people to take up that employment. We are again dealing with the old question that many of the provisions in this Bill are not actually necessary in so far as the large well-established factory is concerned. The smaller the scale of the factory the more we come up against these problems.

Mr. Lemass

I think it is desirable we should have the periodic examination of young persons as wide as possible. It would perhaps be desirable whether they are in industrial employment or not.

Amendment agreed to.

Section 78, as amended, agreed to.

Section 79 agreed to.