Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 7, to delete lines 29 to 32 and substitute the following:“(a) by the substitution, in subsection (1), of “to the Assay Master or an authorised assay office” for “to the Assay Master”,”.

Section 9 of the Hallmarking Act 1981 provides for the manufacturer of a precious metal article to apply a distinctive mark to the article, known as a sponsor's mark, and to have the manufacturer's design approved by the Assay Master. As indicated on Committee Stage, provision has been made in the Bill to transfer approval of sponsors' marks from the Assay Master to the Company of Goldsmiths which had operational responsibility for the assay office, but amendment No. 4 deletes this provision. Having considered the matter further and to ensure that there are no possible governance issues, the assay office and the Assay Master should maintain their independence from the Company of Goldsmiths.

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