16.—(1) A person who designs, manufactures, imports or supplies any article for use at work shall—

(a) ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the article is designed and constructed so as—

(i) to be safe and without risk to health when properly used by a person at a place of work, and

(ii) to comply with the relevant statutory provisions and with the provisions of any relevant enactment implementing any relevant directive of the European Communities,

(b) ensure that the article undergoes appropriate levels of testing and examination to ensure compliance with paragraph (a),

(c) provide or arrange for the provision of adequate information about the article to the persons to whom it is supplied to ensure its safe use,

(d) ensure that persons to whom the article is supplied are provided with any revisions of the information provided under paragraph (c) as are necessary by reason of it becoming known that anything relating to the article gives rise to a serious risk to safety or health,

(e) if the person has responsibility under a rental, leasing or other arrangement to do so, maintain the article in a safe condition and in compliance with the relevant statutory provisions,

(f) comply with the relevant statutory provisions.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(c), adequate information includes information relating to—

(a) the use for which the article has been designed, manufactured or tested, as the case may be, and

(b) any conditions necessary to ensure its safe installation, use, maintenance, cleaning, dismantling or disposal without risk to safety or health.

(3) A person who undertakes the design or manufacture of any article for use at work shall carry out or arrange for the carrying out of any necessary research with a view to the discovery and, so far as is reasonably practicable, the elimination or minimisation of any risks to safety or health to which the design or article may give rise.

(4) A person who erects, assembles or installs any article for use at a place of work where that article is to be used by persons at work shall ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that nothing in the manner in which it is erected, assembled or installed makes the article unsafe or a risk to health when used at the place of work.

(5) A person who manufactures, imports or supplies a substance for use at work shall—

(a) ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the substance is safe and without risk to health when properly used by a person at a place of work,

(b) ensure that the substance undergoes appropriate levels of testing and examination to ensure compliance with paragraph (a),

(c) provide or arrange for the provision of adequate information about the substance to the persons to whom it is supplied to ensure its safe use, and

(d) comply with the relevant statutory provisions and with the provisions of any relevant enactment implementing any relevant directive of the European Communities.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5)(c), adequate information includes information relating to—

(a) the identification of the substance,

(b) any risk to safety or health associated with its inherent properties,

(c) the results of any relevant tests or examination which have been carried out on or in connection with the substance that are relevant to its safe use, and

(d) any conditions necessary to ensure its safe use, handling, processing, storing, transportation or disposal without risk to safety or health.

(7) A person who undertakes the manufacture of a substance, or in the case where the manufacture was undertaken outside the State, the importer, shall carry out or arrange for the carrying out of any necessary research with a view to the discovery and, so far as is reasonably practicable, the elimination or minimisation of any risks to safety or health to which the substance may give rise when in use.

(8) Nothing in subsections (1) to (7) shall be read as requiring a person to repeat any testing, examination or research which has been carried out otherwise than by or on behalf of the person, in so far as it is reasonable for the person to rely on the results of that testing, examination or research, for the purposes of those subsections.

(9) Any duty imposed on a person by subsections (1) to (7) extends only to things done in the course of a trade, undertaking or business (whether for profit or not) carried on by the person and to matters within his or her control.

(10) Where a person designs, manufactures, imports or supplies an article or substance for use at work and does so for or to another person on the basis of a written undertaking by that other person to take specified steps that are sufficient to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the article or substance shall be safe and without risk to health or safety when it is used at a place of work, the undertaking has the effect of relieving the person who designs, manufactures, imports or supplies the article or substance from the duty imposed by paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) and paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (5) to such extent as is reasonable having regard to the terms of the undertaking.

(11) Nothing in subsection (9) or (10) relieves any person who imports any article or substance from any duty in respect of anything which—

(a) in the case of an article designed outside the State, was done by and in the course of any trade, profession or other undertaking carried on by, or was within the control of, the person who designed the article, or

(b) in the case of an article or substance manufactured outside the State, was done by and in the course of any trade, profession or other undertaking carried on by, or was within the control of, the person who manufactured the article or substance.

(12) Where a person (in this subsection referred to as “the supplier”) supplies to another person (in this subsection referred to as “the customer”) any article or substance for use at work under a hire-purchase agreement, a leasing agreement or credit-sale agreement, and the supplier—

(a) carried on the business of financing the acquisition of goods by others by means of those agreements, and

(b) in the course of that business acquired his or her interest in the article or substance supplied to the customer as a means of financing its acquisition by the customer from a third party,

then that third party and not the supplier shall be treated for the purposes of this section as supplying the article or substance to the customer and any duty imposed by this section on suppliers shall, accordingly, fall on that third party and not on the supplier.

(13) For the purposes of this section, an absence of safety or a risk to health shall be disregarded in so far as the case is or, in relation to which it would arise is shown to be, one the occurrence of which could not reasonably be foreseen and, in determining whether a duty imposed by paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) or paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (5) has been performed, regard shall be had to any relevant information or advice which has been provided to any person by the person who designed, manufactured, imported or supplied the article or by the person who manufactured, imported or supplied the substance.