Vol. 396 No. 2
102 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce, in respect of legislation passed under the aegis of his Department, which required (a) a ministerial order or (b) an order of the Oireachtas to implement (1) the entire Act or (2) any section of the Act, he will list any Act or section of an Act which has not yet been implemented; and the reason for any such non-implementation.
There are only three sections of Acts for which my Department is responsible which have not come into operation because a ministerial order or an order of the Oireachtas has not yet been made. These are as follows:
(1) Part VI of the Insurance Act, 1936. This part provides for the establishment of a State reinsurance company to which compulsory reinsurance cessions would have to be made if the circumstances so warranted. There has been no need to activate this provision.
(2) Part IV of the Insurance Act, 1989. This part provides for the regulation of insurance intermediaries. The other parts of the Act were activated by commencement order on 20 March 1989. A transitional period is being allowed in relation to Part IV to enable intermediaries to gear up to compliance in advance of the legislation.
(3) Section 7 (1) (a) (ii) of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1986. This section of the 1986 Companies Act has not yet been activated pending full implementation of EC directives governing the individual and group accounts of certain corporate entities including credit institutions.
103 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Labour, in respect of legislation passed under the aegis of his Department, which required (a) a ministerial order or (b) an order of the Oireachtas to implement (1) the entire Act or (2) any section of the Act, he will list any Act or section of an Act which has not yet been implemented; and the reason for any such non-implementation.
The Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Act, 1987 requires the making of ministerial regulations before becoming operational. Four sets of regulations for the purpose of bringing the Act into operation are at an advanced stage of drafting. When these regulations are drafted, the Act will be brought into operation by order and the regulations subsequently made.
Part II of the Dangerous Substances Act, 1972, requires implementation by ministerial order. Matters relating to the control and use of explosives generally are dealt with by the Department of Justice under the Explosives Act, 1875.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989 is in operation since 1 November 1989. However, the provisions of section 4 (3) of the Act, relating to the repeal of various other enactments will be brought into operation progressively in accordance with section 1 (2).
Section 9 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969, which provides for the appointment of members of the Labour Court to arbitration boards in the public service, has not been implemented by ministerial order. The interim arrangement introduced in 1976 as an alternative to implementing section 9 continues to apply. Labour Court members serve on conciliation and arbitration boards when requested to do so.
