PART I

Preliminary and General

1. —(1) This Act may be cited as the Safety in Industry Act, 1980.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the passing of this Act, and the other provisions of this Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister, either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act.

(3) The Principal Act and this Act shall be construed together as one Act.

(4) The Principal Act and this Act may be cited together as the Safety in Industry Acts, 1955 and 1980.

2. —In this Act—

“the Acts” means the Safety in Industry Acts, 1955 and 1980;

“approved” means approved for the time being by the Minister;

“functions” includes powers and duties;

“lifting tackle” includes clamps and similar attachments, chain slings, rope slings, rings, hooks, shackles, swivels, spreader beams and spreader frames;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Labour;

“plant” includes any electrical or other appliance or equipment (or any part thereof) or any other machine or machinery (or any part thereof), whether driven by mechanical power or not, including in particular a hoist, lift, lifting tackle, steam or other boiler, steam receiver, air receiver, transmission machinery or lifting machine;

“the Principal Act” means the Factories Act, 1955 ;

“prohibition notice” has the meaning assigned to it by section 11 (2);

“safety committee” has the meaning assigned to it by section 36 (1);

“safety delegate” has the meaning assigned to it by section 36 (4) (b);

“safety officer” means a person who for the time being stands appointed under regulations made under section 57 or 71 of the Principal Act to be a safety officer;

“safety representative” has the meaning assigned to it by section 35 (1);

“specified premises” means—

(a) premises described in section 83 (1) or 84 (1) of the Principal Act,

(b) premises to which the provisions of the Principal Act mentioned in section 85 (1) thereof are by that section applied,

(c) a dock, wharf, quay or warehouse mentioned in section 86 (1) of the Principal Act or a line or siding mentioned in the said section 86 (1) or in section 88 (1) or 89 (1) of the Principal Act,

(d) a dock, harbour or canal in which there is for the time being a ship which is being loaded, unloaded, coaled or otherwise bunkered,

(e) any place where building operations described in section 88 (1) of the Principal Act or works of engineering construction described in section 89 (1) of that Act are being carried on.

3. —(1) Section 3 (1) of the Principal Act shall be construed and have effect as if the following paragraphs were substituted for paragraph (xviii):

“(xviii) any premises in which cattle, sheep, poultry or other animals are killed in the course of a business, for packing or otherwise,

(xix) any premises in which mechanical power or steam boilers are used for or in relation to the cleaning, grading or packing of any fruit or vegetables (including fungi).”.

(2) Where in premises which apart from this subsection are not a factory—

(a) plant is being installed for the purpose of being used at work in the premises and the plant is such that were it to be so used therein the premises would by reason of such use be a factory, or

(b) plant which was so used in the premises (or though not used in the premises was intended to be used at work in the premises) is being dismantled and either at the time when it was last being so used therein the premises were a factory, or the plant is such that were it to be used at work therein the premises would by reason of such use be a factory,

then for the purposes of this Act, for so long as the plant is being so installed or is being dismantled the said premises shall be, or as may be appropriate, shall continue to be, regarded as being a factory.

4. —(1) The Minister may by order amend any provision of the Acts so as to comply with any international obligations that the State has decided to assume and which relate, either exclusively or otherwise, to the safety, health or welfare of persons to whom the provisions of the Acts apply.

(2) The Minister may, for the purpose of extending the meaning of “factory” for the purpose of the Acts, by order amend section 3 of the Principal Act, as amended by this Act.

(3) The Minister may by order revoke or amend an order under this section including an order under this subsection.

(4) Where an order under this section is intended to be made by the Minister, a draft of the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

5. — Section 71 of the Principal Act, as amended by section 25 of the Nuclear Energy (An Bord Fuinnimh Núicléigh) Act, 1971 , is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (1) of the following subsection:

“(1A) Where the Minister is satisfied that if noise or other sound, pollutant, vibration or other thing were present throughout a factory or throughout a part of a factory to an extent greater than a particular amount or level it would thereby cause risk of bodily injury to the persons employed, he may, after consultation with the Minister for Health, make such special regulations as appear to him to be reasonably practicable and to meet the necessity of the case.”.

6. — Section 113 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following for subsection (3):

“(3) Any document (including any summons or order) required or authorised to be served or sent under this Act may be served on or sent to a body, whether corporate or unincorporated—

(a) by leaving it at or sending it by post to the registered office (if any) of the body,

(b) by leaving it at or sending it by post to any place in the State at which the body conducts business, or

(c) by sending it by post to any person who is a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body or is purporting to act in any such capacity at the place where that person resides or by leaving it at that place.”.

7. —The following provisions of the Principal Act are hereby repealed:

(a) in section 2 (1) the definition of “degrees”,

(b) subsections (18) and (19) of section 45,

(c) sections 34 (3), 47 (3), 73 and 119 (2),

(d) in section 26 (2) the word “male”,

(e) in section 47 (4) the words “constructed after the coming into operation of this section”, and

(f) in section 86 (3) the words “women and”.