Vol. 436 No. 5
63 Mrs. Doyle asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the staff and structures which are available to the Health and Safety Authority for the monitoring of the chemical industry in Ireland; and if he has satisfied himself with these.
80 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the plans, if any, he has for the strengthening of the Health and Safety Executive to provide, in particular, for adequate monitoring of the chemical industry in Ireland.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 63 and 80 together. The process industries unit of the Health and Safety Authority comprises one supervisory and three operational inspectors whose task it is to monitor and enforce health and safety measures in the chemical industry, with emphasis on the prevention and control of major accidents in that industry. These resources have been augmented for the purposes of the special review of safety in the chemical industry, which the Minister of State with responsibility for Labour Affairs, Deputy Mary O'Rourke, requested the Authority to undertake, by the reassignment from other duties of a further three full-time inspectors and two other inspectors on a part-time basis. The special review is now underway and the Authority will report its findings to the Minister of State when it has concluded its examination. The staffing of the Authority is continually kept under review and the question of additional staffing resources will be decided presently in the context of the 1994 Estimates.
