Vol. 491 No. 3
130 Mr. O'Shea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will introduce legislation to strengthen the Health and Safety Act, 1989; if she will increase the resources available to the Health and Safety Authority to use existing legislation more effectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12148/98]
The key to protecting the general health and safety of all workers does not lie in changing or amending what is fundamentally strong legislation — it lies in changing attitudes and particularly those of a certain minority of employers to health and safety management and in ensuring that they meet all their obligations, both legal and moral. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989, is the principal legislation dealing with occupational health and safety and it sets out in clear and unambiguous terms the responsibilities which employers and employees have in relation to providing and maintaining a safe working environment. Under this legislation, it is the primary duty of every individual employer to identify, assess and manage the health and safety needs of his or her own business. The 1989 Act is supplemented by a series of regulations, in particular the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations, 1993, and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations, 1995. The former extend the requirements of the Act and lay down provisions for health and safety in specific aspects of working activity such as the workplace, the use by workers of work equipment and personal protective equipment, manual handling of loads and work with display screen equipment. The latter is one of the most detailed pieces of legislation dealing with any one industry.
The National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health is responsible for the enforcement of all occupational health and safety legislation. This ongoing enforcement is carried out in an active manner. The authority works to a targeted annual work programme, as approved by its tripartite management board, as well as regularly reviewing and focusing on sectors with high accident rates.
There has been a steady increase in the funding and staff allocated to the authority since its inception. In 1990 Exchequer funding amounted to £2.3 million and in 1998 it will amount to £4.7 million. With regard to staffing, the authority currently has Government sanction for 119 people. However, a further comprehensive submission has been submitted by the authority to my Department in relation to future staffing needs, and this is currently being discussed between officials of my Department and officials of the Department of Finance.
I am satisfied that the current primary health and safety legislation is sufficient. However, the 1989 Act is kept under constant review both by my Department and by the authority as regards its applicability and effectiveness, and should it be concluded from such reviews that regulation in this area would benefit from an amendment of or addition to existing legislation, I can assure the Deputy that the necessary steps will be taken accordingly.
