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27 1996

METROLOGY ACT, 1996

PART IV

Authorised Units and Standards

Legal units of measurement.

18. —(1) The units, of measurement which are authorised for the purposes of this Act are those provided for in the European Communities (Units of Measurement) Regulations, 1992 (S.I. No. 255 of 1992) and any amendment thereto, and all the provisions of those Regulations shall apply in relation to those units.

(2) The Minister may, by regulation, provide for the alteration, by addition, deletion, restriction or amendment of the units authorised by subsection (1).

(3) Any regulation under subsection (2) may contain such transitional or other supplemental or incidental provisions as appear to the Minister to be expedient.

Definition of other units.

19. —(1) The definitions of other units relative to units of the SI System of Units shall be those listed in the Third Schedule .

(2) The Minister may, by regulation, amend the Third Schedule .

(3) The “SI System of Units” means the International System of Units, SI, namely, the coherent system of units adopted and recommended by the General Conference on Weights and Measures (Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures).

Denominations of standard.

20. —(1) Where permitted under the European Communities (Units of Measurement) Regulations, 1992, and subject to the provisions of this section, no person shall have in his or her possession for a prescribed use any linear or capacity standard measure which is not of a denomination shown in the Second Schedule or any weight which is not so included.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to capacity measures over 10 litres or 1 gallon.

(3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) The Director may, with the consent of the Minister, specify new denominations of standard which are either multiple or aliquot parts of existing denominations of standards.

Standards.

21. —(1) Forbairt shall, with the approval of the Minister, provide, maintain or cause to be maintained such standards including facilities, equipment and reference materials as are considered necessary from time to time to facilitate the realisation and dissemination of the SI System of Units of measurement.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1) Forbairt may, with the consent of the Minister, designate other organisations to be responsible bodies for the purpose of subsection (1) in specialised fields of measurement.

(3) The Director may prescribe the standards maintained under subsection (1) or (2) and the conditions of their maintenance, including traceability, custody and the intervals within which the values of standards shall be determined.

(4) Where any doubt arises as to the continued conformity of a standard with the appropriate permissible limits of error, the standard shall not be used until its value has been redetermined or it has been replaced by a standard conforming to the appropriate permissible limits of error. An up-to-date certificate of traceability shall be maintained in respect of every standard or set of standards maintained by the Legal Metrology Service or any organisation designated under subsection (2). In addition, where feasible, the standard shall be sealed to denote the calibration reference.

(5) For the purposes of this section, Forbairt may, with the consent of the Minister, declare that any standard shall cease to be such a standard, and the Director shall amend any regulation made under subsection (3) accordingly.