S.I. No. 358/1995:

SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE AT WORK (MISCELLANEOUS WELFARE PROVISIONS) REGULATIONS, 1995.

SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE AT WORK (MISCELLANEOUS WELFARE PROVISIONS) REGULATIONS, 1995.

I, EITHNE FITZGERALD, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise and Employment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 28 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989 (No. 7 of 1989), in relation to the matters set out in paragraphs (25) and (27) of the Fourth Schedule of that Act, and the Labour (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1993 ( S.I. No. 18 of 1993 ), and the Enterprise and Employment (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No. 2) Order, 1995 ( S.I. No. 43 of 1995 ), and after consultation with the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health, hereby make the following Regulations:--

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Miscellaneous Welfare Provisions) Regulations, 1995.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 21st day of December, 1995.

2. In these Regulations--

"place of work" has the same meaning as in Regulation 16 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations, 1993 ( S.I. No. 44 of 1993 ).

3. It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure that--

( a ) every place of work shall be kept in a clean state and accumulations of dirt, refuse, trade refuse and waste shall be removed at least once every day by a suitable method, and

( b ) the floor of every workroom shall be cleaned at least once every week by a suitable method.

4. It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure that where any employed persons have in the course of their employment reasonable opportunities for sitting without detriment to their work or where a substantial proportion of any work done by employed persons can properly be done sitting, there shall be provided and maintained for their use suitable facilities for sitting.

5. It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure that an adequate supply of wholesome drinking water is provided and maintained at suitable points conveniently accessible to all employed persons.

6. (1) It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure that--

( a ) suitable and adequate facilities for boiling water and taking meals are provided and maintained for the use of employed persons, or

( b ) employed persons have reasonable access to other suitable and adequate facilities for the taking of meals.

(2) The taking of meals by employed persons at any location in the place of work where there is likely to be a risk to safety or health is hereby prohibited.

GIVEN under my Hand, this 21st day of December, 1995.

EITHNE FITZGERALD,

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise

and Employment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The purpose of these Regulations is to provide for certain welfare provisions at places of work to complement the welfare provisions set out in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations, 1993 ( S.I. No. 44 of 1993 ) and to replace requirements under sections 10 , 52 and 55 of the Factories Act, 1955 (No. 10 of 1995), sections 8 , 19 and 21 of the Office Premises Act, 1958 (No. 3 of 1958) and section 15 of the Safety in Industry Act, 1980 (No. 9 of 1980) which have been repealed.

These Regulations set out the duties of employers in relation to cleanliness of workplaces, supply of drinking water and facilities for taking meals. The Regulations also require that employers provide suitable seating facilities for employees and ensure that employees have reasonable opportunities for sitting.

For the purposes of these Regulations "place of work" means a place of work intended to house workstations but does not include:--

( a ) means of transport used outside the undertaking or a place of work inside a means of transport;

( b ) construction sites;

( c ) extractive industries;

( d ) fishing boats;

( e ) fields, woods and land forming part of an agricultural or forestry undertaking but situated away from the undertaking's buildings.

Separate statutory provisions specify the welfare facilities required on construction sites and in the extractive industries.