Safety, Health and Welfare At Work Act, 1989

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Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Act—

“article” includes—

(a) any plant, machinery, apparatus and equipment for use or operation (whether exclusively or not) by persons at work, and

(b) any article designed for use as a component in any such plant, machinery, apparatus or equipment;

“associated statutory provisions” means the provisions of the enactments specified in the third column of the Third Schedule together with the instruments made under them for the time being in force;

“the Authority” means the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health established by section 15 ;

“code of practice” includes a standard, a specification, and any other written or illustrated form of practical guidance, instruction or control, issued or approved of in accordance with section 30 ;

“contract of employment” means a contract of employment or service or of apprenticeship, whether it is expressed or implied and (if it is express) whether it is oral or in writing;

“employee” means a person who has entered into or works (or in the case of a contract which has been terminated, worked) under a contract of employment with an employer;

“employer” in relation to an employee, means the person by whom the employee is employed under a contract of employment; for the purpose of this definition a person holding office under or in the service of the State or of the Government shall be deemed to be employed by the State or the Government (as the case may be) and an officer or servant of a local authority or of a harbour authority, health board or vocational education committee shall be deemed to be employed by the local authority, harbour authority, health board or vocational education committee (as the case may be);

“enforcing agency” means a body prescribed to be an enforcing agency under section 32 ;

“establishment day” means the day appointed by the Minister under section 14 to be the establishment day;

“existing enactments” means the enactments specified in Part I of the Second Schedule , and any instruments under them, for the time being in force; and the regulations under the European Communities Act, 1972, for the time being in force specified in Part II of the said Second Schedule ;

“functions” includes powers and duties;

“improvement notice” means a notice under section 36 ;

“improvement plan” means a plan under section 35 ;

“inspector” means an inspector authorised under section 33 ;

“local authority” includes—

(a) the council of a county,

(b) the corporation of a county borough, or

(c) the Corporation of Dún Laoghaire,

and such local authority shall exercise its functions under this Act within its functional area;

“micro-organism” includes any microscopic biological entity which is capable of replication;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Labour;

“occupational medical adviser” means a person designated under section 34 (4) to be an occupational medical adviser;

“personal injury” includes any disease and any impairment of a person's physical or mental condition;

“place of work” includes any place, land or other location at, in, upon or near which, work is carried on whether occasionally or otherwise and in particular includes—

(a) a premises,

(b) an installation on land and any offshore installation (including any offshore installation to which the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Act, 1987 , applies),

(c) a tent, temporary structure or movable structure, and

(d) a vehicle, vessel or aircraft;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made under this Act by the Minister except in sections 36 (3), 37 (6) (a) and 42 (4) (a) where it means prescribed by regulations made under this Act by the Minister for Justice in consultation with the Minister;

“prohibition notice” means a notice under section 37 ;

“recognised trade unions and staff associations” means trade unions and staff associations recognised by the Authority for the purposes of negotiations which are concerned with the remuneration, conditions of employment or working conditions of employees;

“relevant statutory provisions” means existing enactments and the provisions of this Act and any instrument made under it for the time being in force;

“safety representative” means a safety representative appointed under section 13 ;

“safety statement” has the meaning assigned to it by section 12 ;

“self-employed person” means a person who works for profit or gain otherwise than under a contract of employment, whether or not he himself employs other persons;

“substance” includes any natural or artificial substance, preparation or agent in solid or liquid form or as a gas or vapour or as a micro-organism;

“use” in so far as any article is concerned includes the manufacture, supply, operation, setting, repair, cleaning and maintenance of such articles; and in so far as any substance is concerned, includes any manufacture, process, operation, storage, treatment, mixing, packing, conveyance, supply, handling, filling or emptying, loading and unloading of such substance.

(2) (a) In this Act a reference to a section or a Schedule is to a section of, or a Schedule to, this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended;

(b) in this Act a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended; and

(c) a reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted by any subsequent enactment.

(3) References to an inspector in sections 35 , 36 and 37 shall, in any case in which the enforcing agency is a local authority, be construed as a reference to that local authority.