BILL which will raise the minimum age for normal employment from 15 to 16 is due to complete its passage through the Oireachtas next week.

The Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Bill, 1996, will also make it illegal for 16 and 17 year olds to work after 10 p.m. prior to a school day. On other nights, 16 and 17 year olds would be allowed to work until 11 p.m.

The measures are "a very important signal to parents, employers and young people themselves' that education comes first," according to the Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Ms Eithne Fitzgerald, who has piloted them through the Oireachtas.

"The Bill as framed strikes the correct balance between protecting the vulnerable child and allowing a sufficient measure of independence to encourage maturity and develop a relationship with the world of work," the Minister told the Dail.

It is hoped the Bill will discourage young people from leaving school to take up low grade work with poor job prospects. "While the evidence suggests that the number of persons in the age group 15 to 16 who are in employment is small, nonetheless the cumulative effect in regard to long term employment is not insignificant," the Minister said.

For the purpose of the legislation, "young persons" are defined as those between the ages of 16 and 18, and "children" as those below the age of 16 or the school leaving age. (While the minimum age for leaving school is currently 15, the recent White Paper on Education proposed that it be raised to 16.)

"My Department has received complaints about the employment of children over long hours for low wages, often with the complicity of parents or guardians," Ms Fitzgerald said.

"Often too, the local community does not question, indeed in some cases approves of, children and young persons working over long hours. The areas of complaint include, in particular, employment conditions in supermarkets, public houses, catering and fast food establishments, petrol service stations and the services sector generally."

Under the new law, children will not be allowed work after 8 p.m., more than seven hours in a day, or 35 hours in a week. For young persons the maximum is eight hours a day, and 40 hours in a week. There must also be two rest days in any seven.

There is a general prohibition on children under 14 working.

During the passage of the Bill through the Oireachtas it was amended so that young persons could work up to 11 p.m. prior to days off school. The original intention was 10 every night.

However, Fianna Fail argued that many 17 year olds were heavily dependent on work in bars and restaurants, and that 10 p.m. would be too early for them.

The Minister also discussed this point with publicans' representatives. The possibility that the Bill might be amended to allow young persons work up to midnight was ruled out because it would clash with international agreements on labour laws.

Those aged 15 to 17 are already prohibited from working after 10 p.m. But this is "largely ignored", according to a spokesman for the Department of Enterprise and Employment.

The new law will, for the first time, provide a right of redress to a Rights Commissioner for young people who are penalised by an employer for refusing to breach the legislation.

The Minister can also grant licences to allow young persons or children to work outside the legal limits in, for instance, film making.

Employers will be required to display summaries of the legislation in the workplace.