John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Others who have spoken very little have made very significant contributions. We know metrology is the science of measurement. Apparently, it is the oldest science in the world. I came across an anecdote in the Bills digest from ancient times which indicated that:

The death penalty faced those who forgot or neglected their duty to calibrate the standard unit of length at each full moon. Such was the peril courted by the royal site architects responsible for building the temples and pyramids of the Pharaohs in ancient Egypt, 3000 years BC. The first royal cubit was defined as the length of the forearm from elbow to tip of the extended middle finger of the ruling Pharaoh, plus the width of his hand. The original measurement was transferred to and carved in black granite. The workers at the building sites were given copies in granite or wood and it was the responsibility of the architects to maintain them.

Anybody who has ever seen the pyramids knows it is an absolutely astonishing work of metrology never mind architecture.

As we know, other measurements came about as a result of conquest. The British were particularly good at it and that is from where we got the imperial system. Apparently, in 1875, things had advanced to a point where the first diplomatic treaty on the metre was signed by 17 countries in Paris. The Minister adverted to the fact that every day in our personal and business lives we engage with metrology, from measuring the coffee in our morning cup to weighing ourselves on bathroom scales - I think the metrology in my weighing scales at home is dodgy. I am suspicious of, in particular since I was elected as a Deputy, metering our electricity and gas usage. I will not mention water. Metrology is also vital to science – measuring temperatures among other things.

As the Minister pointed out, the activity of metrology we are covering today is legal metrology which covers not just legal measurements but scientific measurements, dealing with the organisation and development of measurement standards and with their maintenance; and industrial metrology. Legal metrology originated from the need to ensure fair trade, specifically in the area of weights and measures. These issues affect us at a domestic level. In the context of bin collections, constituents have asked me who oversees and checks that the weight of refuse for which they are being billed is correctly weighed by the bin collection companies. I understand those companies come under the remit of the NSAI, the National Standards Authority of Ireland.

The global economy relies on measuring instruments and weights such as petrol pumps and taximeters and we need to know they can be trusted, are internationally accepted and do not form a barrier to trade. I have lived with three currency systems. The euro was one of the greatest exercises in metrology, as was the dollar originally in the United States. The euro is an internationally accepted form of financial exchange across the European Union and a form of exchanging money for goods.

Legally controlled measuring instruments should guarantee correct measurement results under normal working conditions, throughout the whole period of use and within given permissible errors. In the Measuring Instruments Directive, MID, 2004/22/EC, the European Commission in 2011 stated:

The MID applies to around 345 million units of measuring instruments sold annually in the EU [which is a phenomenal amount of measuring units] with a total sales value of around €3.25 Billion. Around 900 manufacturers operate in the 10 sectors covered by the MID not including the large number of SME operating as distributors, importers or providers of repair services. The number of employees in the sector [we use metrology to do this] is around 175,000-205,000. Around 20-25% of measuring instruments in the EU27 are imported while 25-30% of measuring instruments produced in the EU27 are exported to third countries.

One of the reasons we are dealing with this issue today is that the EU undertook to review the legislative framework some years ago to see whether the harmonisation of existing legislation had worked. The conclusion was that, overall, harmonisation had been largely positive but a number of shortcomings were identified. They included a significant number of non-compliant products reaching the market.

To remedy these shortcomings a new legislative framework, NLF, was introduced in 2008. That is our CE brand, which people will know, although I do not think many members of the public would know what the CE mark attempts to guarantee.

The manufacturers are declaring that the product with the CE stamp complies with the essential requirements of European health, safety and environmental protection legislation. It indicates to government officials that the product may be legally placed on the market. It ensures free movement of the product within the European free trade area and EU Single Market. It permits the withdrawal of the non-conforming products by EEA customs and enforcement authorities. These are really safeguarding issues for the consumer.

A main objective of the European Commission, and the reason we are dealing with this Bill today, is to bring product harmonisation legislation in line with the reference provisions of a decision of the EU in 2008 on a common framework for the marketing of products. As the Tánaiste pointed out, the directive regulates the marketing and use of ten categories of measuring instruments. She has outlined what are the categories. In terms of everyday use, they include gas meters, water meters, taxi meters, automatic weighing machines and so on. It is interesting for the public to know that there are methods of measuring what they are using and being sold and that those methods are accurate, and also that there are penalties for those who mess around with these standards of measurement.

The Bill digest provided by the Oireachtas library and research service gives two very reassuring examples of legal metrology court cases, which it is important to put on the Official Record. One took place five or six years ago in respect of overcharging for petrol, where the NSAI investigated a petrol station in Dublin and levied a significant fine. In fact, the inspectors went back a second time on foot of complaints from consumers. They found that the fuel pumps were significantly under-measuring petrol and diesel sold to consumers and prosecuted them on that basis.

The second case concerned the over-exploitation of fish stocks in March of this year. A Donegal fish processing plant and a company director were fined a total of €45,000 for offences against the Metrology Act 1996by the Donegal Circuit Court. One of the individuals was given a six month suspended prison sentence. This followed a joint investigation by the NSAI and Sea Fisheries Protection Agency, which found that flow scales used for weighing incoming fish catches could be knowingly switched off using a fitted electric switch. This allowed the fish to pass over without being weighed.

As I said to the Tánaiste, although it may be hard to believe, the more I delve into this, the more interested I get. I am capable of speaking at considerable length about the topic.

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