Vol. 398 No. 4
43 Mr. T. O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Defence if he has any plans to ensure that conditions in offices occupied by members of the Defence Forces will meet at least the standards set out in the Office Premises Act, 1958; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
A total of £9.8 million is provided in the Estimate for Defence for 1990 for building and engineering works.
In the case of new office accommodation being built the standards laid down in legislation are strictly applied. Existing office accommodation is improved within the resources available for this purpose to bring it up to an acceptable standard.
Is the matter of office accommodation something that might rightly come under the activities of the new representative associations?
The question of new office accommodation is a matter for consideration under capital investment. Do not let us run away with things, this is not within the scope of a representative body. I doubt if any representative body would be that interested in the details of capital expenditure of this kind. We are talking about two different areas altogether.
If the representative body will be dealing with conditions of employment they can discuss whether office conditions are adequate and ask that something be done about them if they are not, irrespective of whether there is capital investment or not.
The Office Premises Act, 1958, carries within it the safeguards applicable to all buildings relating to office accommodation.
