Unite House

55/56 Middle Abbey Street

Dublin 1 D01 X002
Republic of Ireland
Tel: 00 353 (0)1 873 4577
Fax: 00 353 (0)1 873 4602

Republic of Ireland Head Office

April 15th 2021

Re: Proposed legislation to regulate Irish motor mechanics and the

mechanical repair of motor vehicles in Ireland

Dear Ms Dunne,

We hope this letter finds you well.

We are writing to you in our capacity as the Unite the Union Branch for Irish Motor
Mechanics. We were inaugurated last year in an attempt to deliver a fairer deal for
mechanics in our industry and are currently in the first stages of a campaign to
deliver legislation which will properly regulate our trade for the first time and which
we believe will help to better protect the safety, livelihoods and lives of mechanics
and their employers, users of motor vehicles and the general public.

It is this proposed legislation we wish to engage with you on. We are aware that the
remit of Spinal Injuries Ireland extends to providing support and counselling to
victims of Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) from which a spinal injury is the devastating
outcome. Indeed, the National Office of Clinical Audit’s Major Trauma Audit
Paediatric Report (2014-2019) cites that 29% of all major traumas in children
between 1 and 15 years of age are caused by RTAs, of which 17% of those injuries
are spinal.

As you will see from our enclosed proposals, if we were to succeed in having this
legislation introduced, the regulation of independent and franchised motor vehicle
repair businesses to prevent unroadworthy vehicles driving on Irish roads, a
contributary factor in many RTAs would go some way to deliver on Spinal Injuries

Jackie Pollock www.unitetheunionireland.org

Regional Secretary
Ireland’s aim of preventing further spinal injuries, as per Section 4.17 of your
constitution:
“...to encourage the prevention of accidents...on the roads...”.
In our attempts to ensure regulation of our trade, we want to build the broadest
possible cross-section of interested parties and groups who will benefit from such
legislation.

With that in mind, we are extremely keen to arrange a short meeting between a
representative from Spinal Injuries Ireland and some of our Branch committee. We
shortly plan to make representations to the Oireachtas Transport Committee with
regard to our proposed legislation and therefore would appreciate the opportunity of
a discussion with you at your earliest convenience.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Is mise le meas,

Jimi Donohoe
Chairperson
Unite Mechanics Branch
Email: jdonohoe86@hotmail.com

Jackie Pollock www.unitetheunionireland.org

Regional Secretary