Vol. 504 No. 2
100 Mr. Ring asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if a full-time Health and Safety officer has been appointed to the Mayo County Council area; if not, if a full-time appointment will be made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11637/99]
The Health and Safety Authority is the State body with responsibility for the day-to-day enforcement of occupational health and safety. The authority was established under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989.
Section 33 of this Act provides for the authorisation of persons to be inspectors for the purposes of the enforcement of the relevant statutory provisions of the Act. The headquarters of the authority is based in Dublin and the authority has seven regional offices. The western region of the country is served by four offices of the authority which are located in Galway, Sligo, Athlone and Limerick. There is a total of 11 health and safety inspectors working out of these offices and the breakdown is as follows: Galway – five inspectors; Sligo – three inspectors; Limerick – two inspectors; Athlone – one inspector.
While there is no specific health and safety inspector assigned to the Mayo County Council area, that area is served by the appropriate regional office of the authority which, in this case, is the office based in Galway.
I should also point out that the recruitment and appointment of inspectors is a day-to-day matter for the Health and Safety Authority.
