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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 13 Jun 2019

Vol. 983 No. 6

Health and Safety (Funfair) (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage [Private Members]

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Fianna Fáil is bringing forward the Bill to strengthen current health and safety legislation for recreational users of funfairs and fairground equipment provided in Ireland. The Bill will give statutory authority to the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, to ensure the compliance of funfair operators with health and safety provisions. Under our proposals, any funfair operator must carry out a duty of reasonable care towards recreational users. This is the central plank of the Bill.

The Bill was drafted initially two years ago by Deputy Niall Collins. The Deputy is out of the country on Oireachtas business and not in a position to take the Bill this evening. I have worked on the Bill in the same committee and that is the reason I am taking it.

Under the Bill, the HSA would be empowered under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 to ensure funfair operators have a duty to safeguard recreational users of fairground equipment, including roller coasters, and maintain the equipment in a safe condition. The draft legislation provides for penalising operators found to have failed to take reasonable care to maintain fairground equipment in a safe condition.

The first aspect of the Bill sets out exactly what is fairground equipment Section 1 defines "fairground equipment" as including "any fairground ride or any similar equipment which is designed to be in motion for entertainment purposes with members of the public on or inside it, any equipment which is designed to be used by members of the public for entertainment purposes either as a slide or for bouncing upon, and any swings, dodgems and other equipment which is designed to be in motion wholly or partly under the control of, or to be put in motion by a member of the public or any equipment which may be prescribed, in the interests of public safety, for the purposes of this section". The definition covers most of the hurdy-gurdy rides that we all know and love.

The legislation includes provisions to penalise operators found to have failed to take reasonable care to maintain fairground equipment in a safe condition.

There are no provisions in Ireland's workplace health and safety law to protect users of fairground equipment. This is in contrast to other common law jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, where workplace health and safety legislation applies directly to the fairground and amusement park industry. Significantly, UK law protects not only people at work but also members of the public and volunteers who may be affected by a work activity with legal duties to protect the health and safety of those using fairground machines. In addition, the UK has a large body of documentation on guidance and safety practice. This is sorely missing in Ireland.

Unless the current legislative gap is bridged in Ireland further tragic accidents may occur. One such accident was revealed in a "Prime Time Investigates" programme broadcast on RTÉ more than two years ago. In the programme, the parent of a 12-year-old girl revealed how his daughter had broken her neck on a roller-coaster. Shockingly, it transpired that the legislative deficit in the area means no State body has direct responsibility to investigate health and safety incidents in theme parks and funfair rides or equipment. During the programme, the HSA said the legislation it operates under does not extend to the investigation of such incidents. Replies to parliamentary questions by the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation reiterated that the authority "does not have the statutory responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of users of fairground equipment". It is simply not justifiable that in 2019 no State body has the power to investigate reports of accidents or injuries on fairground sites in respect of the use of funfair equipment.

Our Bill attempts to fill a legal lacuna in the regulatory framework. We look forward to working constructively with stakeholders and Members and we will take on board amendments on Committee Stage to further improve the Bill.

The Bill was first drafted two years ago. As Members know I live in County Waterford. The Minister of State and others present will be familiar with Tramore, which is a popular resort. We met the stakeholders from there two years ago. They are broadly supportive of what the Bill seeks to achieve.

We are only on Second Stage and no Bill is perfect at the outset. We welcome further dialogue as well as any amendments to the Bill. There is a need for the lacuna to be sorted.

The Minister of State might ask me some questions. Our Bill will not encourage fraudulent insurance claims. We have made provision to guard against this. Under section 2, where a person enters a funfair for the purpose of committing an offence, that is, to injure himself or herself intentionally or to act with reckless disregard, the funfair operator shall not be liable for a breach of the duty imposed. We believe this provision will address that issue and deter fraudulent behaviour.

Another question the Minister of State might ask is whether the Planning and Development Act 2000 covers this safety issue.

While the Act enables safety certificates to be issued for fairground equipment by local authorities, and we are all familiar with those provisions, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government has confirmed in a parliamentary question that planning legislation does not assign responsibility to a specific body to investigate accidents at funfairs. Licences are received from local authorities, and we have learned that the number of licences handed out over the last couple of years is fairly standard, in that it was 340 in 2018 and 343 in 2014. The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation also confirmed in a parliamentary question that the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, does not have any statutory responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of users of fairground equipment. I refer again to the issue of the child who was injured in a fairground, and the fact that the HSA assistant chief executive at the time said: "To my knowledge there is no other statutory body that would have a role to investigate in relation to a public safety incident in a fairground or funfair".

This Bill is not intended to be a killjoy. It is intended to ensure the health and safety of all persons who use funfairs and hurdy-gurdies, so that if, unfortunately, an incident happened, the HSA would be in a position to enter, investigate and try to make sure another incident would not happen. A huge hole in legislation needs to be bridged to protect users of fairground equipment such as rollercoasters. In regard to the "Prime Time Investigates" programme broadcast on RTÉ in February 2017, the parents of the injured child were absolutely appalled and the father said:

But when we raised the issue and our concerns that this could happen to someone else and find that no one is responsible, that no one is looking after the health of our children, that there is no oversight, to find that neither the Health and Safety Authority or no other body is overseeing the health and safety, protecting our children. That has been quite a shock to us and this is something that needs to be dealt with.

This Bill was born out of that RTÉ "Prime Time Investigates" programme, when we learned about that young girl, who I believe has recovered sufficiently, thank God, and that nobody was able to investigate that incident. The operator of a funfair, or the provider of fairground equipment, must apply to the local authority for a licence to make sure the equipment is sound, safe and can be used. Unfortunately, accidents happen, and when an accident happens, there has to be someone responsible who can go in, check it out, see what went wrong, and try to ensure it never goes wrong again.

This is a very short Bill. Section 1 deals with the definitions. Section 2 inserts an additional section after section 8 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 to provide employer duties and duty owed to persons at a funfair. Section 3 is a standard provision providing for the citation and commencement of the Bill. I see no reason there cannot be cross-party support for this. It is an amending Bill, but the amendment is meant well, and aims to ensure the health and safety of anyone who uses this equipment. It is welcomed by the stakeholders, who are very concerned about health and safety because this is their business and livelihood. They do not want any issues, but if there is an issue they want to be able to deal with it. The central plank of this is that we have to ensure a duty of reasonable care to recreational users. I hope the Minister of State will give it his best consideration, and that he will see that this is an extremely fair Bill. It aims to sort out an area where we discovered an anomaly in the 2005 legislation.

I thank Deputy Butler who is right in her comments about her experience of Tramore which is in her constituency. When I was young, which seems like a long time ago, for many in south Kilkenny Tramore was the hurdy-gurdies and it remains true to this day. I also thank Deputy Niall Collins for drafting this Bill. It shines a light on the very important issue of public safety at funfairs and, indeed, at outdoor events generally. To highlight such matters is worthy at any time but all the more so at this time of year as we enter the summer season when hopefully, Irish weather permitting, we get the chance to attend and enjoy more of such events in comfort and safety. The Government does not wish to oppose this Bill this evening - in fact, the Department has been engaged on this subject for some time now. We are carrying out a review of safety at funfairs at the moment, a process which I expect to be finalised and reported on within the next few months. This is ultimately likely to be part of a broader examination of public safety at outdoor events involving my Department, the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and other key players. It is against this background and context that I will now speak to the specific matters raised in the Bill.

A key aim of this Bill is to impose a duty of care for public safety on funfair operators as well as a duty to maintain fairground equipment in a safe condition. This is an objective the Government stands fully behind. It is important to reassure people as they head into the summer that the current safety regime places significant obligations on funfair operators and equipment owners already. However, like all systems and processes, safety at funfairs needs to be reviewed and improved if necessary.

A second key focus of the Bill is that it proposes that the HSA would be responsible for ensuring compliance with the proposed duties on funfair operators. It would provide that the HSA use its full powers of inspection, enforcement, and investigation in respect of public safety at funfairs, as well as in regard to employee safety, which is the primary objective of the HSA at present. The issue of appropriate and adequate inspection, enforcement and investigation by a competent body is a key consideration of the current review. I again point out that the issue of funfair safety fits within a broader public safety landscape, involving several Departments and pieces of legislation. Furthermore, there is an extensive historical background to the development of safety at public and sporting events both in Ireland and internationally. This clearly points to the need to locate safety at funfairs within broader policies and regimes governing public safety at events.

I have some concerns that the Bill is only seeking to amend one of the statutory regimes dealing with safety at funfairs. There are key provisions in the planning Acts, which were, in fairness, referenced by Deputy Butler, that govern funfair equipment and notifications. I am not sure if it was a deliberate omission or a considered approach, but I would say that it is a considered approach based on the Deputy's comments. While I recognise the relevance of the expertise and experience of the HSA, given the Bill’s intention to increase the operational remit of the HSA, has the Deputy considered whether this could have unintended consequences for the HSA’s core existing work?

On the specifics of the Bill, I note there is effectively a checklist of requirements in respect of what would constitute reckless disregard, rather than proper care and attention, by funfair operators. My initial reaction to these particular provisions is that they do not fit well with the general legislative approach taken on matters such as these. As a result, I have some reservations about this aspect. However, ultimately, whether we would support these will depend on the results of our own review of the current safety regime, which I will talk about shortly in a little more detail and on the legal advice.

For the avoidance of doubt, I want to be clear that there is currently a safety regime governing funfairs in Ireland. Section 239(2) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 currently places a statutory duty on organisers of funfairs and owners of fairground equipment to take such reasonable actions to ensure that persons at a funfair do not suffer injury or damage because of dangers arising from the funfair or associated activities. Section 239(3) sets out the personal responsibility of each of us to take care of both ourselves and children in our care when attending funfairs and using funfair equipment safely. We have a duty to be careful, not reckless, or to do things to put ourselves or others at risk. This regime is intended to ensure that everyone who attends and enjoys these events can do so in a safe and secure way.

Section 239(4)(a) of the Act also requires that the owner of fairground equipment shall not make it available to the public unless such equipment has a valid certificate of safety. Further, the organiser of a funfair is required to give notice of the event to the relevant local authority and such notice is to be accompanied by a valid certificate of safety. In circumstances where the provisions in respect of notice and valid certificates of safety have not been complied with, section 239(8) of the legislation provides that the relevant local authority may serve notice requiring the cessation of the fairground-funfair operations. Failure to comply in this regard is an offence.

In recognition of the public safety concerns highlighted in 2017, the Department initiated a review of the provisions of section 239 on the control of funfairs. The review is also examining the issue of public safety at funfairs and theme parks in the context of more general approaches to safety at public events. The overall aim is to learn from other contexts where there is experience and expertise in similar areas, as appropriate. The review will enable a series of balanced measures to be introduced that will further strengthen our regime for the governance, inspection, investigation and enforcement of complex public safety issues in respect of funfairs specifically, with the potential to point to a more integrated approach to public safety at events more generally. The intention will be to ensure that any change deemed necessary to other legislation such as the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 will also be duly considered in that context. The Department has met representatives of key organisations and stakeholders from the industry and individuals as part of this process, including the Health and Safety Authority, HSA.

A key issue is the investigation of accidents at funfairs. Understandably, this is a core concern in Deputy Niall Collins's Bill. It should be noted that provisions in criminal justice and safety, health and welfare at work legislation provide for a range of responsibilities and roles in the investigation of accidents. Such investigative powers are only granted by the Oireachtas to competent specialist bodies. This is an area being considered in the review.

As I speak, the review is at an advanced stage, with report drafting well under way. Further engagement with relevant stakeholders, as well as local authorities, the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and the HSA, is now required to finalise the conclusions and recommendations. The review report will address the concerns highlighted in this Bill as well as the notice and certificate of safety regime under the Planning Acts, including the process for appointment of authorised persons to issue safety certificates and the inspection, investigation and enforcement regime for public safety at funfairs.

There is clearly a need for a co-ordinated approach, with a clear allocation of roles and responsibilities, in the area of public safety. Public safety at crowd events is viewed as one of the higher risk scenarios in the emergency management arena. The national steering group, NSG, on major emergency management, which is made up of representatives of the Departments of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Health and Justice and Equality and the three principal response agencies, namely, the Garda, the Health Service Executive and, via the City and County Management Association, local authorities, recognises that the issue of public safety is complex. It can involve a number of Departments and agencies in risk management, with different configurations required during the hazard identification and risk mitigation, planning and preparedness, and response phases. However, the NSG's members recognise the benefits of a co-ordinated approach to dealing with event promoters and are raising the issues that they have identified with the Government task force on emergency planning, which is seen as the most appropriate whole-of-Government forum to take forward these issues.

This Bill raises important public safety issues that are worthy of consideration, support and progression. In light of the provisions in section 239 of the 2000 Act, the Department is already engaged on this subject. I expect the work on the review to be concluded in the coming months and I anticipate that my Department and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation will work together closely on this. When the review report becomes available, I anticipate that it will bring forward a series of balanced measures to address what are long-standing and complex public safety issues in respect of funfairs specifically, with the potential to point to a more integrated approach to public safety generally. I expect this issue to be taken up and progressed in a more co-ordinated way across the whole of Government.

I note and commend the spirit and ambition of this Bill. It targets enhancing public safety, which is important to all of us. However, I reiterate that the issues I referred to need to be considered further in order to ensure a coherent, joined-up and appropriate public safety regime that is modelled on best international practice. While there are challenges in aspects of the Bill, I nonetheless welcome it. I thank Deputy Niall Collins for drafting it and Deputy Butler and her colleagues for proposing it in the House. Deputy Collins can be assured that my Department and I will work to ensure that the intent behind it is given due consideration in the ongoing review and in the recommendations and actions that flow from same. I expect visible and real progress in this area by the end of the year so as to ensure that public safety continues to be maintained and enhanced at funfairs and other events.

I am speaking on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Quinlivan, who cannot attend.

I thank Deputy Niall Collins and his colleagues for introducing this important Bill, which seeks to impose on funfair operators a legal duty not to injure a person intentionally and a new duty not to act with reckless disregard for a person at a funfair in respect of any danger that exists there. Such a breach of duty by a funfair operator would result, on summary conviction, in imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, a fine not exceeding €1,500 or both or, on conviction on indictment, a fine, imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or both. Sinn Féin believes that these provisions are fair and just and, therefore, we are happy to support the Bill.

I understand that the Bill originated after an RTÉ "Prime Time" report a couple of years ago highlighted a worrying lack of regulation and standards in the funfair industry. As the Minister of State alluded to, the Planning and Development Act 2000 places a statutory duty on funfair organisers and the owners of fairground equipment to take reasonable care to ensure that funfair attendees "do not suffer injury or damage by reason of any danger arising out of the funfair or associated activities." In the programme's immediate aftermath, however, and notwithstanding the existing regulations, the absence of inspections or oversight came as a major shock to most people due to the considerable size and speed of some attractions in funfairs.

The Bill will give the HSA an oversight role in receiving and investigating complaints by users of funfairs and theme parks. It should be noted that most operators of funfairs around the country - there are plenty in my constituency, including in my town of Skerries - operate to a high standard and never run into any problem. However, this legislation does not seek to deal with areas where there are no problems, only with areas where issues may arise. While we acknowledge that safety is paramount in most funfairs, it is an unfortunate reality that serious and fatal incidents do happen at funfairs and theme parks in Ireland and internationally. In the 1990s, a young woman was killed in County Tipperary when the chair of a funfair ride she was on snapped and threw her to the ground, fatally injuring her. In 2011, a 31 year old woman was killed after being thrown from a funfair ride in Dublin city centre. In 2015, a rollercoaster at Alton Towers in England was involved in a serious accident that resulted in a number of people being seriously injured and having limbs amputated as a result. In 2016, nine people were injured when stairs collapsed at an attraction at a theme park in County Meath. These incidents are rare, but we will all agree that one death or serious injury is one too many.

Fairgrounds are a common sight coming into the summer, especially at festivals and community events. Over the course of the summer, many of us will visit funfairs and attractions, maybe with younger relatives or, if we just fancy a day out, on our own. Since children and teenagers are the most common users of such attractions, putting stronger protections for them in place is welcome.

I am glad to hear that the Government will not oppose the Bill.

The Minister of State might tell us whether he intends to give the Health and Safety Authority the additional resources to police funfairs and ensure they are compliant with the law.

Section 1 seeks to include "swings" in the definition of "fairground equipment", which is appropriate in light of what we have learned recently about the potential dangers and hazards that are occasionally associated with the unsupervised use of swings. In this context, we should not lose sight of the importance of people taking responsibility for their own actions. This Bill seeks to impose a duty on fairground operators to ensure their equipment and attractions are in perfect working order, but it does not seek to replace people's duty of care and responsibility for their own actions. That has to be paramount. There is only so much that the owner of a fairground can do. All he or she can do is ensure that the equipment is in working order, that supervision is provided where required, and that safety notices, etc., are provided where required. I am sure we can all agree on that.

I acknowledge the part played by Deputy Niall Collins and his colleagues in bringing forward this legislation. I reiterate that Sinn Féin is happy to support it.

Deputy Rabbitte has ten minutes.

I will not need ten minutes. I will speak for a few minutes.

The Deputy has been on the hurdy-gurdies for the last two months.

They were some hurdy-gurdies I was on.

That is a word I avoided.

I welcome the Minister of State's support for the Bill. My speech is well tethered as a result of his expression of support. Like anyone else who watched the episode of "Prime Time" which has been mentioned, I was shocked to learn that this sector is not governed by any rules or regulations. I compliment my colleague, Deputy Collins, on the introduction of a speedy response to what he witnessed when he watched the programme in question. It simply cannot be justified that in 2019, no State body has the power to investigate reports of accidents or injuries on fairground sites involving the use of funfair equipment.

The power of enforcement under this legislation is set out in chapter 2 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. This Bill seeks to amend section 8 of the 2005 Act to put in place a framework in primary legislation that outlines the specific duties of funfair operators, thereby ensuring the highest health and safety standards are in operation among funfair operators. This will minimise the potential dangers to users. There will have to be adequate user protections and warnings, for example. Given that there have been fatalities and injuries in this jurisdiction and elsewhere, as Deputy O'Reilly has outlined, Ireland needs to strive for the highest health and safety protections for recreational users of funfairs.

When the House debated tourism earlier this afternoon, we spoke of the need to develop Ireland as a green tourist destination and to grow our tourism product. Both of these needs fit together very well. As we seek to expand this country's tourism industry, we need to ensure it is a safe destination where the highest rules, regulations and requirements are adhered to. People who travel here will be comforted if they know we take these matters very seriously. We look forward to working with all stakeholders on this Private Members' Bill. I encourage Deputies on the other side of the House to advance any amendments they may seek to make to the Bill to ensure it addresses other matters. We would welcome such proposals.

I find it shocking that the HSE did not carry out any inspections of fairground and funfair equipment, such as roller coasters, between 2011 and 2016. We all have hurdy-gurdies in our own counties. We make a point of bringing our kids to them for a day out. We even bring our friends' kids. We are really putting ourselves at risk, which we never thought we would do. We assumed that there were rules and regulations. We would never have put anybody else at risk. We would not allow our kids out on a swing or down on a slide at home without checking it to ensure it is safe. When we walk into amusement parks, we let our kids go up on wheels at high speed. We stand and gaze at them while automatically assuming everything is hunky-dory. That is the case 99.9% of the time, but if anything happens, God forbid, there is no fallback and no protection for parents or friends.

I will not speak for much longer on this legislation. I welcome the Minister of State's support for this timely Bill, which is certainly needed in 2019. I encourage the Fine Gael side of the House to afford this legislation the time it needs. What is the quickest pathway we can avail of to bring it though? We do not want to kill Christmas and we do not want to prevent people from having fun. We want to ensure people can get out there in the knowledge that it is safe to do so.

We can take action on any legislative proposals or administrative changes that are required by the end of the year as long as the review I spoke about in my first contribution is finalised by then. We hope to have the review finalised in the next couple of months. It is not accurate to suggest that there are no rules and regulations. The issue that has emerged relates to the level of inspection. Depending on the outcome of the review, there are actions that will need to be taken. The Government will not oppose the Bill because we fully stand with the aims behind it, which relate to public safety at public events. Everyone in the country will be familiar with the scenarios that have been outlined, having been to funfairs as children. Most parents, if not all, have brought children to funfairs on many occasions. Much of what we are discussing relates to domestic tourism, which continues to have great potential for growth. I hope we might yet get a repeat of last year's summer, despite the colder weather of recent weeks. Such weather would attract more people to funfairs and fairgrounds throughout the country.

The proposals in the legislation are ultimately an attempt to scrutinise the existing systems and processes, which is an important thing to do from time to time. It is sad in a way. I realised a few minutes after Deputy O'Reilly spoke about an incident in County Tipperary in which a girl was killed that I have a vague recollection of it. I would have been a child at the time. My mother probably shouted at me as I ran out of the car on the prom in Tramore. As I said earlier, it is important to point out that the Planning and Development Act 2000 places safety requirements at funfairs in the hands of operators. I agree with Deputy O'Reilly's point that we have personal responsibility too. Matters are complicated when we are talking about dealing with mechanically operated equipment of any sort. People have a responsibility to ensure they do not place themselves or anybody else in danger. Equally, it is important that equipment is always up to the standard of safety that is required.

The Government fully supports the spirit and ambition of this Bill, which correctly targets the enhancement of public safety. As I said in my first contribution, the issue we have is that the question of safety at funfairs and fairgrounds needs to be considered in the broader context of public safety. Ireland is lucky to have very good public servants who deal with issues of public safety, often in circumstances of storms and bad weather and emergencies like those that have been mentioned by several Deputies. Some of those officials are here today. My only criticism of the Bill is that it is aimed solely and specifically at funfairs rather than the broader public safety context I have mentioned. The Government will take action in the wider context on foot of this legislation and the review I mentioned earlier. I thank Deputy Niall Collins for bringing forward the Bill.

The Government will work with Members across the House to make sure the regime for the governance, inspection, investigation and enforcement of safety at fairgrounds is optimal and that learning from this process is applied to public safety at other events, in line with international best practice. It is intended, following the completion of the review, that there will be action in this area before the end of the year.

I apologise for stepping out during the debate but the national broadcaster is interested in this Bill and I had to nip out to be interviewed on it. I welcome the fact that the Government is not opposing this Bill. The Minister of State said that the Department is carrying out a review of safety at funfairs which is expected to be finalised and a report produced within the next few months, which is very welcome. This Bill is shining a spotlight on the fact that there are no regulations governing situations where a person is injured. I have no doubt that we can tease out some of the questions posed by the Minister of State earlier when the Bill goes before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Business, Enterprise and Innovation for detailed scrutiny. I am chairman of that committee and look forward to this Bill coming before us. We will deal with it in a timely manner.

The Minister of State made reference in his closing statement to the broadness of what is covered. A funfair is a place of entertainment where fairground equipment is used. That can cover an awful lot of items and is one of the definitions in the Bill. As I said earlier, fairground equipment includes any fairground ride or similar equipment which is designated to be in motion for entertainment purposes. The Bill does not refer to things like bouncy castles, which are hugely popular. Indeed, I know of a young child who fell off a bouncy castle last week and broke his wrist in two places. Perhaps that is what the Minister of State means when he says that the departmental review will include all kinds of entertainment items, which is very welcome. As I have already said, what we are doing here today is shining a spotlight on an anomaly in the 2005 Bill and as legislators, that is what we are expected to do. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government said that one of the issues being looked at in the review is that the current rules do not assign responsibility to a specific body to investigate accidents at funfairs. This Bill is quite narrow in its scope but that was deliberate on the part of Deputy Niall Collins. He is seeking to amend the current Act whereas the Government is looking at overhauling the entire system.

It is important that we are having this conversation and the sooner this legislation is enacted, the better because nobody wants to see anybody being hurt. The operation of funfairs is a tough business. Operators are very dependent on the weather and unfortunately we have not had a good summer so far. They are very dependent on weather and on trends and the last thing funfair operators want to see is people getting hurt. They do not want that experience. Funfair operators also provide employment for college students at weekends and during the summer months.

Unfortunately, I did not hear Deputy Louise O'Reilly's contribution but I understand there is broad support for this Bill across the House. I welcome the fact that the Government is supporting it and look forward to scrutinising it in detail at the aforementioned Oireachtas committee, which will invite contributions from all relevant stakeholders. I am sure we will improve the Bill, if necessary.

Question put and agreed to.
The Dáil adjourned at 6.05 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 18 June 2019.
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