Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 24 Mar 1999

Vol. 502 No. 4

Written Answers. - Health and Safety.

Willie Penrose

Question:

11 Mr. Penrose asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she has communicated with the Health and Safety Authority and farm organisations with a view to reducing the number of farm accidents, particularly the number of accidents which in the past year have resulted in unacceptable fatalities among young children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5252/99]

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Mr. T. Kitt)

The Health and Safety Authority is the State body charged with responsibility for the administration, enforcement and promotion of all workplace health and safety legislation.

Due to the high-risk nature of agriculture, it has always been a priority area of activity for the authority which carries out a high number of inspections per year in the sector, and offers advice and information to farm groups countrywide in addition to making its staff available to farmers through attendance at farm shows and exhibitions including the National Ploughing Championship.

In 1999 the Health and Safety Authority has planned 1,000 inspections in the farming and forestry sector. Particular attention will be paid throughout the year to the promotion of child safety with the assistance of farming organisations, the education authorities and the Garda community liaison service and an emphasis will also be placed by the authority on encouraging farmers to carry out appropriate risk assessments and to draw up safety statements. In addition, the authority will participate in a European campaign on farm safety focusing in particular on safety statements and child safety education and training.

Some years ago the authority established a farm safety task force to offer guidance to the authority and to spearhead promotion activities. The members of this task force are drawn from the farming community itself, and they work closely with farming organisations such as the IFA, the ICMSA, the ICA, Teagasc, the farm relief service, and also the insurance industry, in highlighting the hazards and risks associated with farming, and the measures required to control such hazards.

In the light of the number of farm deaths in 1998 and already this year, I have asked the authority to have urgent consultations at top level with the farming interests so that adequate direction is given to the efforts to reduce accidents on farms. Farm safety will continue to be a priority area of activity and attention for both myself and the Health and Safety Authority.

As with all sectors of employment, prevention is the key element in tackling workplace accidents and fatalities. Farmers must acknowledge that farming is a hazardous occupation which carries very specific risks to themselves, to their workers and, indeed, to their families. As part of the preventative process, I strongly urge any farmer, who has not already done so, to draw up a safety statement. Where such statements exist it is vital to keep them under regular review. I also appeal to farmers and farm workers to exercise constant care and vigilance in their work practices, especially where there are children on the farm and particularly with longer days and school holidays approaching.

The Health and Safety Authority has an extensive range of information material available to anyone seeking advice and guidance. The authority works closely with all of the major farming organisations in their promotional activities and awareness-raising exercises. I commend both the authority and the farming organisations for their work in this regard, and I encourage all farmers to seek information from either of these sources on how best they can improve their work practices and so ensure the health and safety of themselves and their families.

David Stanton

Question:

12 Mr. Stanton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to a recent report by the British Heart Foundation which found that the stress of work is putting extra pressure on people's lives and the disappearance of the hour long lunch break is the cause of stress disease and heart attacks; her views on the matter; the action, if any, she will take as a result; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8443/99]

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Mr. T. Kitt)

The Health and Safety Authority is responsible for the day-to-day enforcement of occupational health and safety and I have no direct function in this regard.

The authority has informed me that the report referred to by the Deputy, sets out, in response to a questionnaire, the attitudes of 659 working adults in the age group 25 to 50. The report shows that those surveyed felt that work had adversely affected their health and contributed to an increase in their weight, less available time for exercise, exposure to other people's tobacco smoke and an increase in alcohol consumption. The report also found that respondents felt that the working day was becoming more intensive, and that those who take fewer breaks during the day and who work longer hours are more likely to believe that their health is being adversely affected by their work.

While I can offer no further comment on this report, I can assure the Deputy that, in Ireland, we have comprehensive legislation relating to the general protection of the safety, health and welfare of people while at work. This legislation is administered, enforced and promoted by the Health and Safety Authority.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989, is the principal legislation dealing with workplace health and safety. It is a detailed piece of legislation which clearly sets out the responsibilities which both employers and employees have in relation to providing and maintaining a safe working environment. The Act applies to all places of work and covers all employers, employees and the self-employed.

The 1989 Act places the primary duty of care for the safety, health and welfare at work of employees on the employer in the first instance. This applies to all workplace health and safety matters including such issues as workplace stress, violence and bullying.

Under section 12 of the 1989 Act, every employer is obliged to prepare a written safety statement. This statement should be based on an identification of the hazards, and an assessment of the risks, to safety and health at the place of work. The statement should also specify the manner in which the safety, health and welfare of workers is to be secured. Both I and the authority would encourage all employers to use the process of preparing a safety statement to examine the physical and psychological risks to workers and to ensure the workplace is structured and managed in such a way that workers are not placed under extreme levels of stress which may have a negative or detrimental effect on their physical well-being.

The Health and Safety Authority has produced a booklet on the prevention of stress at work and it is intended that this will be revised during the current year. Stress in the workplace, in whatever form it comes, is unacceptable and is a health and safety issue. The emphasis is on the management of workplaces in a way that prevents unnecessary stress.

Employees, too, have a role in ensuring they care for their own health and do not expose themselves unnecessarily to risk as a result of unhealthy lifestyles or working conditions.