Phil Prendergast (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State. South Tipperary is rich in industries that have chemicals as their basis. These industries are big employers.

The Bill is, by its nature, technical. Its intention is to amend the Chemicals Act 2008 and meet certain EU obligations to implement and enforce certain EU regulations. These include the EU regulation on the classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures; the replacement EU regulation on the export and import of dangerous chemicals, implementing the Rotterdam Convention; and periodic technical amendments to these two EU regulations and the EU REACH and detergents regulations.

Chemicals are important in areas such as medicine in which they are used to treat and reduce the number of diseases and agriculture in which they are used to increase crop yields. However, their use must be regulated and they should not be overused. Their toxicity should be tested and their impact on human health and the environment monitored. Therefore, it makes sense to have just one enforcement framework in place. I welcome the initiative in this regard.

The Bill proposes a number of minor amendments to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 which include improving the display of notices in the workplace. This arose following a High Court case.

With this type of technical legislation which incorporates EU legislation into Irish law we are very dependent on departmental experts to get the detail right and cover all of the legal requirements adequately. As a result, we must ensure a support framework is put in place for businesses to examine the legislative framework and what it means for them and at the same time ensure the REACH guidelines do not impose unnecessary costs on the businesses concerned. I have every confidence that our officials will do a proper job in this regard.

Let me comment on sections 6 and 12. The former states improvement plans and revised improvement plans must be considered to be adequate and implemented. This makes obvious sense, given the subject matter of the legislation. Section 12 which is to be welcomed deals with measures to encourage improvements in the health and safety at work of workers with a fixed duration or temporary employment relationship. I welcome the Bill.