asked the Minister for Labour what proposals his Department have for reducing the number of industrial accidents.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Industrial Accidents.
20.
I share the Deputy's concern, implicit in his question, about the number of industrial accidents.
I have strengthened the industrial inspectorate and more inspectors are in the process of being recruited through the Civil Service Commission.
I am up-dating codes of safety regulations. I am continuing to provide financial support for the National Industrial Safety Organisation which was established specifically to promote higher safety standards in industry. Employers found to be in persistent breach of provisions of the Factories Act are prosecuted.
In the last annual report of the factory inspectorate, it was emphasised that the inspectorate is ready at all times to advise on matters of safety and employers were invited to avail of this service.
Last month I wrote to employer organisations and to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions emphasising the absolute necessity for the active co-operation of managements and workers as a back-up to the work of the inspectorate and of the National Industrial Safety Organisation. In my letter to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions I again expressed my disappointment at the small number of safety committees that have so far been established in industry despite the legal rights given to the workers to set up such committees. I suggested that it might be open to Congress to promote appropriate action among its constituent unions.
In my letter to the employer organisations I appealed most earnestly to managements to take a firm grasp on this whole question of safety at work. I appealed also to the workers to follow the safety rules and procedures and not to allow familiarity with the job to lead them into habits of carelessness which can result in permanent disablement and even death.
Does the Minister accept that in many cases the provisions of the Factories Act are not enforced and that a system under which only persistent breaches of this Act are prosecuted is contributing to the element of danger in factories?
I do not accept that.
The reason that there are so few safety committees is due to the way the system is set up. Employers may not be anxious to have the committees set up or, alternatively, they attempt to have them set up without the co-operation of the organised workers on the job.
I think that could be remedied within the framework of the existing law where there are statutory rights to set up such committees. If the Minister's appeal to Congress is heeded, the unions could take worthwhile steps in informing workers of their rights and backing them up.
In relation to the Minister's muted denial of the point I made, is he aware that some years ago I had occasion to undertake a survey of the Factories Act for a new foreign firm starting here? To my surprise I discovered that my job was not to find out what was the law but to distinguish between those aspects of the Act which were in force and those that were not in force and inform the firm concerned. I found that some provisions were never enforced. In one instance, with regard to the provision regarding the display of notices on the factory wall, I heard a rumour that such a notice had been seen once on a factory wall in County Donegal but never anywhere else.
The Deputy is referring to the situation which existed some years ago. I have drawn attention in the reply to the fact that the safety regulations are being up-dated and also to the fact that the factory inspectorate has been strengthened and is being strengthened further.
Can the Minister state if the law is being enforced? Why is it that only persistent breaches of the Act are being dealt with?
I think that is a matter of policy which probably makes sense from the point of view of achieving a greater degree of safety.
It makes sense not to enforce the law?
21.
asked the Minister for Labour the number of industrial accidents in each of the past three years.
The number of industrial accidents reported to my Department in accordance with the provisions of the Factories Act, 1955, were: year ended 30th September, 1969, 2,838; year ended 30th September, 1970, 2,760; year ended 30th September, 1971, 2,930.
The figure for 1971 is provisional and may require some slight adjustment.