PRESS RELEASE(for immediate release)
25..11..2014.
Contact: 0861914565 or 0863759686
FITZMAURICE WORRIED ABOUT EU DIRECTIVE AFFECTING WELDERS AND STEEL FABRICATORS.
Michael Fitzmaurice TD is liaising with Ministers, Departments and various agencies to try and sort out the problems arising from a new EU directive that is in force since July of this year.
People will be familiar with the “CE” mark on many of the household items that they buy. The mark is an assurance that the item is certified as being of a certain standard. Now, all welders and steel fabricators all over Ireland must be accredited and must be able to produce the CE/EN certificate if they are supplying steel for farm buildings or other contracts. All steel fabrication being supplied to public buildings such as schools, county council buildings or any government contract will require this certification.
“To obtain this certification, small businesses are being asked to fork out large sums of money to undergo the training that is involved. In many cases, small businesses will not be able to afford the huge costs involved and this will lead to the loss of projects and this will inevitably lead to jobs being lost in this sector.”
Michael Fitzmaurice says “I hope that common sense can prevail and I will be working with the agencies who are involved in training to try and find a way that certification can be obtained at a reasonable cost as employers cannot afford the exorbitant costs being quoted at the moment.”
“The overall goal here is to protect jobs and I will be talking to Minister Bruton this week to impress on him the importance of bringing the various agencies together so that our small businesses can have the opportunity to get this accreditation and hold on to the badly needed jobs in our communities.”