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112
Offices, Shops
and Railway
Premises Act,
1983
This Statute imposes a duty on the occupiers of defined
premises to provide adequate means for preserving the safety,
health and welfare of the persons employed in such premises.
The Act, which came into force on May 1st, 1964, required the
occupiers to register controlled premises by a specified date
and thereafter routine inspection of the premises was undertaken
by the district Inspectors in general. There were 25
additional premises registered during the year making the total
2,487. They comprised 569 offices, 1,696 retail shops, 55
wholesale shops and warehouses, 167 premises ill which
food is supplied to the public and 10 fuel storage depots. The
figure of persons employed in registered premises was 19,561
comprising 8,736 males and 10,825 females. The Inspectors
paid 1,591 visits to registered premises. One application which
was granted was received for exemption from the provisions
of Section 9 (sanitary conveniences) and two for exemption
from the provision of washing facilities under Section 10
which were refused.
In addition, three applications were received for extentions
of exemptions already granted from the provisions of
Sections 9 and 10. In one case an extension of exemption from
the provisions of Section 9 was granted but the other applications
were refused.
Housing
The administration of the provisions of the various Housing
Acts was continued. Insofar as overcrowding is concerned, two
statutory notices and two informal notices were served requiring
abatement in 1966 and one area was declared by the Council
to be a clearance area in the same period. The main problem
in the administration of this important Statute lies in the
difficulty in securing suitable and sufficient land and the
provision of new houses for occupation by those not only
displaced by sum clearance programmes but also those who
are in urgent need of housing accommodation. Various figures
in relation to the inspections, service of notices, compliance
with the notices and the manner of dealing with the various
problems relating thereto are contained in the attached Appendix
24.
The ever increasing difficulties arising from the occupation
of houses by more than one family has in large measure been
curtailed in that regular inspections have been carried out of
premises subject to the requirements of the Housing Acts
1961—1964. Direction Orders regarding the occupation of
such premises in accordance with the standards laid down by
the Council have been issued and these have had a salutary