Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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348. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he proposes to transpose the EU Sharps Directive under the Health and Safety Act; if he will provide a timeframe for its transposition; the practical measures that have been put in place to ensure speedy implementation of the directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8155/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The transposition of the provisions of Directive 2010/32/EU (known as the ‘Sharps’ directive) on the basis of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, had originally been recommended in the Regulatory Impact Assessment undertaken in 2011 by the Health and Safety Authority. In line with the public consultation procedures conducted under Section 57 of the Act of 2005, a draft of proposed regulations was published on the Health and Safety Authority’s website for a period of one month in early 2012, along with a Regulatory Impact Assessment and a copy of the Directive. Draft regulations providing for transposition of the Directive in line with the principles contained in the Act of 2005 were subsequently transmitted by my Department to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) at the end of 2012.

However, legal advice received from the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) in early 2013 required a reversal of this approach, as concerns were raised about the suitability of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, as a vehicle for transposing this Directive. My Department was subsequently advised that transposition should instead be effected using the Ministerial regulation making powers contained in section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972.

Officials from my Department and the Health and Safety Authority have been working together with the OPC on the framing of draft regulations, so as to expedite the transposition arrangements in a manner that is true to the spirit of the Directive, while also ensuring appropriate and proportionate enforcement measures attuned to our existing national regulatory framework. The European Commission has been informed in the meantime of the legal issues that have given rise to the delayed transposition.

Notwithstanding the delay in the transposition of the Sharps directive, the Health and Safety Authority has produced a very clear guidance document, available on their website since last year, that outlines the procedures that must be followed in order to comply with the provisions of the Directive. The requirements of the Directive have been brought to the attention of the healthcare sector, throughout the transposition period and since the date on which the Directive came into effect, in communications and presentations made by the HSA presentations at seminars including events held by the Institute of Occupational Health and Safety, Nursing Homes Ireland and the Health Protection Surveillance Centre. The HSA has also communicated on the ‘Sharps Directive’ and its implementation at different times with a number of other interested parties in the healthcare sector, including those involved in the dental profession and HSE Office of Health Protection.

The transposition deadline for this Directive was 11 May 2013. On 23 January 2014 the EU Commission issued a Letter of Formal Notice of Infringement against Ireland (Ref. 2013-0274) requesting Ireland to submit a response within two months i.e. by 21 March 2014. It is anticipated that the transposing measures will be submitted before that deadline and that any escalation of the infringement proceedings would accordingly be averted.