New EU chemical laws could cost Irish firms €180m
The employers' body IBEC has claimed that new EU chemical regulations due to come into force next year could cost Irish industries more than €180m.
The laws require chemical producers and companies working with chemicals to make all information about those chemicals, as well as the risks associated with them, available to all users.
IBEC spokesperson Marian Byron says small and medium enterprises will be faced with extra bureaucracy and extra cost as they seek to comply with the regulations.
She also said many companies, particularly those who simply use chemicals rather than those who import or manufacture them, are unaware of their new responsibilities.
"It has the potential to cause total chaos within the next two to three years within a lot of industries that don't think they're going to be affected," she said.
"Part of the problem is a lot of these industries are not concerned because they don't even know it's going to affect them."
