Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

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.

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