Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1978 > Committee on the Secondary Legislation of the European Communities > Report No. 29 - Statutory Instruments [15]

REPORT

A. INTRODUCTION

Instruments Examined

1. Since the issue of its twentieth report (Prl. 7279) of 28th June, 1978 the Joint Committee has examined a further fifteen statutory instruments of which nine were made under the European Communities Act, 1972 and the remainder under other statutes. The instruments examined are listed in Appendix I to this report. The Committee wishes to comment on seven of the instruments examined.

B. CONTROL OF IMPORTS (QUOTA NO. 51) (MISCELLANEOUS TEXTILES) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) ORDER, 1977 [S.I. No. 266 of 1977] AND CONTROL OF IMPORTS (QUOTA NO. 52) (MISCELLANEOUS TEXTILE PIECE GOODS) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) ORDER, 1977 [S.I. No. 257 of 1977].

RESTRICTION OF IMPORTS (MOTOR CAR TYRES FROM THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC) ORDER, 1977 [S.I. No. 376 of 1977].

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (SURVEILLANCE OF CERTAIN MOTOR CAR TYRE IMPORTS) REGULATIONS, 1978 [S.I. No. 111 of 1978].

Purport of Orders

2. S.I. Nos. 266 and 257 of 1977, which were made by the Government under the Control of Imports Act, 1934, remove import restrictions on certain goods coming from third countries. S.I. No. 376 of 1977, which was made by the Government under the Restrictions of Imports Act, 1962, subjects the import of tyres from East Germany to licensing control. S.I. No. 111 of 1978, which was made by the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy under the European Communities Act, 1972, subjects the importation of tyres of East German origin, which have been put into circulation in other Member States, to a form of surveillance. As will be seen from the correspondence with the Department concerned (see Appendix II) all four instruments are based on Council or Commission Decisions.

Citation of Community Legislation

3. In none of these instruments is there any reference to the Community legislation which they implement either in the text or in the accompanying explanatory memorandum and indeed in one case (S.I. No. 376 of 1977), there is no explanatory memorandum appended at all. One result of this omission was that the Joint Committee did not become aware of the fact that three of the instruments came within its terms of reference until this was revealed in the Eleventh Report of the Government on Developments in the European Communities. This difficulty did not, of course, arise in the case of the fourth instrument (S.I. No.111 of 1978) as it was made under the European Communities Act, 1972.

4. As will be seen from the correspondence reproduced in Appendix II, the Department concerned acknowledges that the omission of a reference to the relevant Community legislation in S.I. No. 111 of 1978 was an oversight. In the case of the other instruments which were not made under the European Communities Act, 1972, the Department considers that “references to European Community Legislation would not have been appropriate”. It adds that the question of including such a reference in explanatory memoranda or in the six-monthly reports of the Government is being examined.

5. The Joint Committee is convinced that where a statutory instrument is necessitated by Community legislation, that fact should be apparent from a perusal of the instrument. In its twentieth report (Prl. 7279) of 28th June, 1978 it gave its views on how instruments made under Acts other than the European Communities Act, 1972 might be drafted with this object in mind. In deference to the Department’s view it has reconsidered its position. However, it remains unconvinced that a reference to Community legislation in a suitable preamble would not be “appropriate”. Accordingly, it requests that the matter be again examined by the Department. It will report on the matter further to the Houses in due course.

Explanatory Memoranda

6. The examination of these instruments has led to the Joint Committee considering the adequacy of the explanatory memoranda appended to statutory instruments which are based on Community legislation. The Committee has concluded that it is not unreasonable to expect that such memoranda, which have no legal effect, should contain a summary of (a) the provisions of the Community legislation and (b) the measures being taken in the instrument to implement such legislation. In the Committee’s view this is the least that those affected by the instruments are entitled to expect.

C. EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (INSURANCE AGENTS AND BROKERS) REGULATIONS, 1978 [S.I. No. 178 of 1978].

Purport of Regulations

7. The Regulations implement Council Directive 77/92/EEC which contains transitional provisions dealing with the right of agents and brokers to set up business in Member States other than their own. In some Member States persons wishing to pursue this activity must possess specified general, commercial or professional knowledge and ability. Such States are required by the Directive, in the case of nationals of other Member States, to accept, in lieu of the specified national qualifications, evidence of certain specified experience. The latter States are required by the Directive to designate authorities and bodies competent to issue certificates of such experience. The Regulations provide for the setting up of a Committee in Ireland to certify the experience of Insurance Agents and Brokers wishing to operate in other Member States where national laws regarding specified qualifications apply.

Composition and Term of Office of Committee

8. The Regulations provide that “one member of the Committee shall be nominated by the Minister and the remaining six by such bodies as the Minister considers representative of the insurance industry”. The Joint Committee considered whether it would have been more appropriate had the bodies referred to been designated in the instrument itself. However, having considered the views of the Department concerned (see Appendix III) it agrees that the provision cited is better as it stands.

9. The Regulations also provide that “the members of the Committee shall be appointed by the Minister and shall hold Office for such period as he shall determine”. The Joint Committee notes, however, that there is no provision for terminating an appointment during such period. The Committee would have thought it better to have specified in the instrument itself the period of appointment and to have provided for termination of appointment during such period if the occasion arose. It suggests that this aspect be re-examined.

Insurance Intermediaries in Ireland

10. As will be gathered from the Joint Committee’s correspondence with the responsible Department (see Appendix III) there is no statutory control at present in this country over persons setting up in business as insurance brokers and agents. The Department is, however, considering the matter. The Committee agrees that it is appropriate that it should do so at this stage because the arrangements provided for in Directive 77/92/EEC are transitional and it is expected that common Community rules relating to the profession will eventually be adopted. The Committee believes that the consideration should in particular be directed towards the advisability of statutory requirements relating to solvency.

D. EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (OIL FUELS IN POWER STATIONS) REGULATIONS, 1978 [S.I. No. 75 of 1978].

Licensing of Power Stations

11. Council Directive 75/405/EEC provides that the construction of new power stations using oil exclusively or mainly or the conversion of power stations to oil exclusively or mainly requires prior authorisation from the appropriate authority in the Member State concerned. The Directive specifies the cases in which an authorisation may be granted. S.I. No. 75 of 1978 implements the Directive in Ireland and provides that the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy shall be the appropriate authority. It also provides that certain small types of generators shall not need prior authorisation. There is no corresponding provision in the Directive. According to a letter of 16 Meitheamh, 1978 received by the Joint Committee from the Department (see Appendix IV) the purpose of the latter provision (to which the Commission has consented) is to reduce the work load to which applications under the Instrument will give rise. The Joint Committee agrees that this is a sensible arrangement.

E. HYDROCARBON OIL (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1977 [S.I. No. 382 of 1977].

Community Obligations

12. The Joint Committee undertook the examination of these Regulations because the Eleventh Report of the Government on Developments in the European Communities indicates that it was necessitated by the obligations of Community Membership. The instrument was made by the Revenue Commissioners under the Finance Acts, 1935, 1940 and 1960 and deals with the metrication of certain control aspects of the excise duty on hydrocarbon oils. It appears from the Committee’s correspondence with the Revenue Commissioners (see Appendix V) that the replacement of the imperial units, the gallon and the lb., by metric units will not arise as a matter of Community law until some time in the 1980s and that the Regulations were made at the request of the oil industry which has already completed its own metrication programme. The Committee has concluded that, as no legal obligation arising from Community membership is at present involved, the instrument is not within its terms of reference.

(signed ) MARK CLINTON,

Chairman of the Joint Committee.

8th November, 1978.