Metrology Act , 1996

PART I Preliminary

1 Short title, commencement and scope.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Metrology Act, 1996.

(2) Except as otherwise provided, this Act shall come into operation on such day as the Minister shall by order appoint.

(3) The Packaged Goods (Quantity Control) Act, 1980, and this Act may be cited together as the Metrology Acts, 1980 to 1996, and shall be construed together as one Act.

(4) Without prejudice to section 18, this Act applies to measurements made and to instruments used for the purpose of trade and any other use which the Minister prescribes.

2 Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

“container” means a container in which goods are exposed, packed, offered for sale or sold, including, in particular, a bag, case, carton, bottle, glass, box, can, envelope, net, sack or wrapper (whether or not such wrapper fully encloses its contents or portion of its contents are exposed);

“conformity assessment procedures” has the meaning assigned to it by section 14;

“the Director” means the holder of the office of Director of Legal Metrology established by section 7;

“the establishment day” has the meaning assigned to it by section 7 (2);

“Forfás” means the body established in that name by section 5 of the Industrial Development Act, 1993;

“Forbairt” means the agency established in that name by section 5 of the Industrial Development Act, 1993;

“functions” includes powers and duties;

“goods” means anything which is the subject of trade, manufacture or merchandise;

“inspector” means a person authorised or appointed under section 8 or section 9 to be an inspector for the purposes of this Act;

“instrument” means a measuring instrument in use for a prescribed purpose under this Act;

“the Legal Metrology Service” means the Service established under section 7;

“mark” or “marking”, unless otherwise stated in this Act, includes any inscription, stamp or label signifying conformity of an instrument, or otherwise, with this Act and the regulations made thereunder whether applied by impressing, casting, engraving, etching, branding or otherwise;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Enterprise and Employment;

“standard” is a material measure, measuring instrument, reference material or measuring system intended to define, realize, conserve or reproduce a unit or one or more values of a quantity to serve as a reference;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulation under this Act;

“reference material” means a material or substance one or more of whose property values are sufficiently homogeneous and well established to be used for the calibration of an apparatus, the assessment of a measurement method or the assignment of values to materials, and a “certified reference material” is a reference material accompanied by a certificate pursuant to subsection (2);

“sell” includes agree or offer to sell or expose for sale whether by rent, lease or other agreement or invite an offer to buy and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“the Service” has the meaning assigned to it by section 7;

“SI System” has the meaning assigned to it by section 19;

“stamp” means a device used to apply a mark under this Act;

“traceability” is a property of the result of a measurement or the value of a standard whereby it can be related to stated references, usually national or international standards, through an unbroken chain of comparisons all having stated uncertainties;

“type approval” means the examination, including testing in accordance with international practices, and approval of a particular design of instrument to show that it is suitable for use for a prescribed purpose and is capable of achieving the accuracies required;

“unit verification” means the examination of an instrument, generally of a unique design and intended for a specific application, to establish that it satisfies legal metrological requirements;

“used for the purpose of trade” means any use in connection with or with a view to any contract, bargain, sale, dealing or transaction, the collection of tolls, taxes and duties, or the computation of salaries, wages or allowances which has been or has to be done, sold, delivered, carried or agreed by weight, number or other measure;

“user” means the person or organisation responsible for use of the instrument for the purposes of this Act;

“verification” means the examination of an instrument being generally of an approved type to establish that it conforms to that type and that it meets legal metrological requirements and includes re-verification.

(2) A reference material, one or more of whose property values are certified by a competent authority by a procedure which establishes traceability to an accurate realization of the unit in which the property values are expressed, and for which each certified value is accompanied by an uncertainty at a stated level of confidence, is in this Act referred to as a certified reference material.

(3) A reference in this Act to a Part, section or Schedule is to a Part, section or Schedule of this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other Act is intended.

(4) A reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended by any subsequent enactment.

3 Regulations.

3.—(1) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of this Act, or for the purpose of giving effect to European Union legislation in the field of measurement or amending such legislation made under the European Communities Act, 1972, or for any matter that may be prescribed by this Act.

(2) Every regulation made under any provision of this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as possible after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next subsequent 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the regulation.

4 Fees.

4.—(1) Under the powers conferred by section 38 of the Industrial Research and Standards Act, 1961, Forbairt may, with the consent of the Minister, charge fees for type examination, approval, verification, inspection, certification, hiring of standards and other services provided by the Service under this Act.

(2) On the coming into effect of the fees under subsection (1) the enactments listed in Part IV of the First Schedule shall stand repealed.

(3) Where a person fails to pay any fee payable under this Act within 21 days of issue of a request for payment, an inspector may attach seals, or any other prescribed device, to prevent the use of the instrument in respect of which the fee is payable until such fee is paid.

(4) Any person who fails to pay the fee referred to in subsection (3) within 90 days of issue of a request for payment shall be guilty of an offence.

5 Expenses.

5.—Expenses incurred by the Minister or by Forbairt in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

6 Repeals and amendments.

6.—(1) The enactments and statutory instruments mentioned in Parts I and II of the First Schedule are hereby repealed or amended to the extent specified in the third column.

(2) The enactments and statutory instruments mentioned in Part III of the First Schedule are hereby amended by the substitution of “Director” for “Minister” where any such reference is intended to refer to the Minister for Enterprise and Employment to the extent specified in the third column.

(3) Regulations made under any enactment repealed by this Act shall continue in force as if made under the corresponding provision of this Act and may be amended or revoked accordingly by regulations made by the Minister or by the Director.

(4) A reference in any other enactment or statutory instrument to the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1961, shall be construed as a reference to this Act.

(5) The provisions of the Weights and Measures (Taximeter: Section 136 of the Road Traffic Act, 1933) Regulations, 1938, shall remain in force for the purposes of this Act until amended or revoked. Subject thereto, all references to the Commissioner and the Minister contained in those Regulations shall be construed as a reference to the Director.

PART II Legal Metrology Service

7 Establishment of Legal Metrology Service and Office of Director of Legal Metrology.

7.—(1) The Minister shall by order appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Part.

(2) On the establishment day there shall stand established a body to be known as the Legal Metrology Service (“the Service”) within Forbairt, and the First and Second Schedules to the Industrial Development Act, 1993, shall have effect accordingly.

(3) The staff of Forfás shall include a chief officer for the Service who shall be known as the Director of Legal Metrology.

(4) Forbairt shall exercise its functions under this Act through the Director who shall be appointed by the Board of Forbairt with the approval of the Minister and shall hold office on such terms and conditions (including remuneration) as that Board, with the concurrence of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, may approve. The first Director shall be appointed to hold office from the establishment day.

(5) The Director shall carry out such functions as are assigned to the officer by this Act or by regulations thereunder.

(6) The Director shall furnish to the Minister such information regarding the performance of his or her functions as the Minister may from time to time request.

8 Transfer of personnel.

8.—(1) With effect from the establishment day, Forfás shall accept into its employment every person who, immediately before that day, was—

(a) a member of the staff of the Department of Enterprise and Employment, or

(b) a member of the staff of a local authority, or

(c) an inspector for the purposes of the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1961,

and is designated by the Minister of the Government or the local authority concerned for, and accepts, employment by Forfás.

(2) A person who, being a member of the Garda Síochána, accepts employment in Forfás under subsection (1) may, with the consent of the Minister for Justice, be appointed and enrolled as a member of the Garda Síochána within a period of 18 months from the date of enactment of this Act and thereupon such employment shall cease.

(3) Save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade union or staff association concerned, a person referred to in subsection (1) shall not, while in the service of Forfás, be brought to less beneficial conditions of service (including conditions in relation to tenure of office) or of remuneration than the conditions to which he was subject immediately before the establishment day.

(4) In relation to persons transferring to Forfás under subsection (1), previous service in the Garda Síochána, local authorities or the Civil Service shall be reckonable for the purposes of, but subject to any exceptions or exclusions in, the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 1991, the Holidays (Employees) Acts, 1973 and 1991, the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, 1973 to 1991, and the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 to 1993.

(5) Such persons specified in subsection (1) as being inspectors appointed under the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1961, and the Packaged Goods (Quantity Control) Act, 1980, shall, from the establishment day, be inspectors for the purposes of this Act until such time as the provisions of section 9 come into effect.

(6) Forfás shall prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme or schemes of superannuation in accordance with paragraph 3 of the Second Schedule to the Industrial Development Act, 1993, which shall provide for membership of persons transferred under subsection (1).

(7) Every scheme prepared under subsection (6) shall provide for not less favourable conditions in respect of persons who, immediately before the establishment day, were members of the staff of a local authority or the Civil Service, than those to which they were entitled immediately before the establishment day.

(8) Disbursement of pensions and gratuities and other allowances which may be granted to or in respect of persons who, immediately before the establishment day, were members of the staff of a local authority or the Civil Service or were members of the Garda Síoch-ána, shall not be less favourable than would apply if the benefits referred to had continued to be paid out of moneys provided by a local authority or by the Oireachtas as the case may be.

(9) Subject to subsection (10), every scheme prepared under subsection (6) shall provide that in the case of a person who immediately before the establishment day, was a member of the Garda Síochána, the time and conditions of retirement, the calculation and payment of superannuation allowance by Forfás, and other conditions relating to superannuation, shall be in accordance with such superannuation scheme or such enactments in relation to superannuation and time and conditions of retirement as applied to such person immediately before the establishment day and, for that purpose, his or her pensionable service with Forfás shall be aggregated with his or her previous pensionable service.

(10) Subsection (9) shall not apply in the case of a person who immediately before the establishment day was a member of the Garda Síochána and who at a date subsequent to transfer accepts promotion or transfer to another post on the staff of Forfás, and the time and conditions of retirement, the calculation and payment of superannuation allowance by Forfás and other conditions relating to superannuation in relation to such a person shall be in accordance with the provisions applicable as if the person was an employee of Forfás who was not transferred under subsection (1) and, for that purpose, his or her pensionable service with the Garda Síochána shall be aggregated with his or her pensionable service.

(11) Where a superannuation allowance falls due for payment to or in respect of a person referred to in subsection (1) in the period beginning on the establishment day and ending immediately before the coming into operation of a scheme submitted by Forfás and approved under this section, the allowance shall be calculated and paid by Forfás in accordance with such superannuation scheme or such enactments in relation to superannuation, as applied to such a person immediately before the establishment day and, for that purpose, his or her pensionable service with Forfás shall be aggregated with his or her previous pensionable service.

9 Appointment of inspectors.

9.—(1) Forbairt may appoint any person being—

(a) an officer of Forfás, or

(b) a person who for the time being stands appointed under the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1961, as an inspector of Weights and Measures, or

(c) a person who for the time being stands appointed under the Packaged Goods (Quantity Control) Act, 1980, as an inspector for the purposes of that Act,

to be an inspector for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Every person appointed under subsection (1) to be an inspector shall be furnished with a certificate by the Director of his or her appointment.

(3) Forbairt may, at any time, revoke an appointment under this section, and in such case, the person whose appointment is so revoked shall surrender to the Director the certificate furnished under this section.

10 Powers of inspectors.

10.—(1) An inspector, subject to the production, if so required, of his or her certificate of appointment, may:

(a) at all reasonable times, enter any premises, or any other place, including a vehicle or vessel in which he or she reasonably believes there are for the time being any instruments in use for any prescribed purpose,

(b) at all reasonable times enter any premises or any other place, including a vehicle or vessel, in which any activity in connection with the manufacturing, processing, supplying, distributing, importing or retail selling of goods is carried on,

(c) on entering any place by virtue of this section be accompanied by any such other persons and take with him or her any such equipment as may appear to be necessary,

(d) inspect such premises and examine and test any such instruments or goods found thereon for the purposes of establishing conformity with the provisions of this Act and the Packaged Goods (Quantity Control) Act, 1980,

(e) if following any such inspection or testing an instrument is found not to be in conformity with the provisions of this Act, apply non-conformity marks to the instrument,

(f) take away from the premises for examination, testing and measuring any such instrument or goods,

(g) require the owner, person in charge or any employee of the place entered to provide all reasonable assistance including personal assistance, books, records or other documents to enable the inspector to carry out functions under this Act,

(h) inspect and copy or take extracts from any such books, records or other documents,

(i) in the case of any vehicle or vessel referred to in paragraph (a), request the owner or operator thereof to bring the vehicle or vessel to the nearest location at which appropriate test facilities are available and at which an inspection may be carried out.

(2) An inspector who takes away an instrument or goods pursuant to subsection (1) (f) shall notify forthwith, and issue a receipt to, the person on whose premises the instrument or goods are taken, or that person's authorised representative, indicating that the instrument or goods as the case may be are taken in pursuance of this Act.

(3) An inspector who takes away any goods in pursuance of subsection (1) (f) shall, if the owner of the goods so requests, buy the goods on behalf of the Director.

(4) An inspector may seize and retain—

(a) any article, instrument, stamp or goods which he or she reasonably believes to be in contravention of this Act or the Packaged Goods (Quantity Control) Act, 1980,

(b) any document relating to an instrument or any document displayed with any goods offered or exposed for sale which relates to the price or quantity of the goods, and which the inspector reasonably believes may be required as evidence in any proceedings.

(5)The provisions of this section together with the provisions relating to powers of inspectors set out in section 14 of the Packaged Goods (Quantity Control) Act, 1980, shall apply for the purposes of this Act.