The Health and Safety Authority welcomes the opportunity to meet the committee today. I am accompanied by my colleagues, Mr. Brian Higgisson and Mr. Robert Roe, the authority's assistant chief executives with responsibility for workplace compliance and corporate services.
I will start by giving a brief overview of the work of the authority and especially what we are doing in agriculture. I will then outline our approach to regulating workplace health and safety in a manner that is sensitive to the requirements of Irish business, and will also address the initiatives we have undertaken to ensure our operational efficiency is maximised. We will then be more than happy to deal with any questions committee members might have.
We met with the committee in January 2008, so I will keep my overview of the authority relatively brief. Established in 1989, the Health and Safety Authority is the national statutory body with responsibility for enforcing occupational safety and health law, promoting and encouraging accident prevention, and providing information, advice and research to all companies, organisations and individuals. We advise the Minister of State with responsibility for labour affairs on the creation of legislation and regulations in this area and we represent Irish interests at EU advisory committees and technical working groups.
The authority has also been given responsibility for leading the national implementation and administration of the REACH regulation - the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals - which is a key legislative programme for Ireland's pharmachemical and high-tech sectors. As part of our remit on chemicals, not only have we responsibility for protecting human health and safety, but also competitiveness, innovation and environmental matters.
The authority is a highly-efficient organisation with a challenging responsibility. Our primary role is to develop and maintain a culture of safety and health for over 1.8 million people who work in Ireland today, whether they are employers, self-employed or employees. We have a staff of 185, of which 150 are involved as inspectors in accident investigation, enforcement, information and promotion, and development of legislation.
When we talk about numbers in the context of accidents and fatalities, we should remember that we are talking about people. These are human tragedies for the victims, their families and communities. Equally, we deal with accidents that result in absence from the workplace. The areas of work that we cover are as diverse as the economy itself. Our remit covers every type of workplace, ranging from sites where just one or two people are employed to large corporations with many locations and thousands of people on their payroll.
The authority has a duty to ensure that safety and health in the workplace is a priority for everyone. This involves a multifaceted and strategic approach by us. Our strategy has two principal strands. On the one hand it involves a focus on prevention, education and training, but then we have to enforce the law because we are a regulatory and enforcing body. To achieve this, we start with the principle that every one of the 1.8 million people at work in Ireland has a fundamental right to go to work and to return from work that day with his or her health and safety intact. Our mission is to promote a culture of workplace safety and health.
When we look at the number of accidents in the workplace over the last few years, we see an encouraging picture. Ireland is now ranked fourth in the EU in respect of worker fatality rates and third for absences from work greater than three days. The rate of fatality has fallen consistently over the past decade from 3.1 per 100,000 workers in 2001 to 2 per 100,000 workers in 2009. This means that there are hundreds of people going about their daily business who would be victims if these interventions had not taken place. It is difficult to quantify, but we know that this is what the downward trend means. Workplace fatalities have fallen from a figure of 74 in 2005 to 43 in 2009. This reduction is much greater than the reduction in the labour force in the same period, so there has been a significant underlying improvement. The number of workplace fatalities recorded in 2010 stands at 48. I use that expression because accidents during the year may result in fatalities at some later stage. However, I stress that no fatality is acceptable and our target is a zero fatality work environment. The rate of non-fatal injury in Ireland is one of the lowest in the EU and has declined by 36% since 2002. Looking at this from a high level perspective, Ireland can take pride in the consistent improvements that it has made in workplace health and safety. However, there is still considerable work to be done and every fatality is one too many.
In marked contrast to the positive story we have to tell about Irish workplaces in general, agriculture stands out because of the consistently high number of fatalities taking place within the sector. Unfortunately, we saw a very bleak picture last year. In 2010, there were 26 fatalities on Irish farms, almost always in circumstances that were foreseeable and avoidable. These fatalities represent well over 50% of all workplace fatalities in 2010, even though only 6% of the workforce are engaged in this sector. Put simply, a member of the general working population is approximately ten times more likely to die if he or she is working on a farm. The tragedy is that investigations usually find that such deaths are avoidable and preventable. In comparative European terms, however, Ireland has made considerable progress with its farm safety record. Despite the current difficulties, we are still ranked among the top five European countries. It is important to recognise that although the HSA drives national health and safety policy, primary responsibility for health and safety in any workplace resides with the employer or the person in control of the place of work.
We are pursuing a number of significant initiatives to make progress with this issue on farms. Approximately 20 inspectors carry out proactive work in the agriculture sector at present. In 2010, we established a dedicated specialist group of five agriculture inspectors and increased the number of farm inspections by 36% to 1,700. We aim to carry out 3,000 farm safety visits in 2011. We are developing new farm safety guidelines with the support of the major farming groups, which were called together by the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, early in 2010 as this tragic situation was becoming apparent. This material complements the extensive existing guidance. It includes practical tips that are designed to help farmers be more aware of risks. This will help them to protect themselves, their families and visitors to their farms. In light of the importance of raising awareness, we have redoubled our efforts by working with farming organisations, including the IFA, the ICA, the ICMSA, Macra na Feirme, equipment suppliers, insurance companies and the farming media. We have a close working relationship with Teagasc in relation to training programmes.
Our broad approach to regulation involves ensuring workplace injuries and fatalities are minimised through a mix of education, advice, inspection and, where required, enforcement and prosecution. We have always been conscious of the need to conduct our work in a manner that is as friendly to business as possible. It is sometimes forgotten during discussions on business and regulation costs that a culture of health and safety compliance contributes positively to national competitiveness by reducing the costs of occupational illness. According to an Indecon report published in 2006, having been commissioned by the then Minister of State with responsibility for labour affairs, Deputy Killeen, the economic cost of work-related injury and illness is estimated to equate to 2.5% of annual GNP. If we take 2009 as a sample year, that would come to €3.8 billion. Apart from the tragic nature of these incidents, it should be borne in mind that injuries and fatalities carry with them the likelihood of increased insurance premiums. This can affect individual enterprises and lead to increased premiums across the economy. The consequences of workplace accidents can be devastating for victims and businesses. Many of our inspectors observe that businesses where serious workplace accidents have occurred often cease trading some time later, as a pretty direct consequence of such accidents.
We are all familiar with the problems associated with financial regulation over the past decade. We know that effective regulation is essential. A balance needs to be struck to ensure we have enough regulation to ensure a safe working environment without imposing regulatory requirements that are costly obstacles for Irish business. It is our firm belief that the workplace health and safety powers and regulations given to the HSA by the EU and the Oireachtas are set at the minimum levels we need to make progress. Most of our inspections are directed at higher-risk sectors for safety and health issues. There is a focus on agriculture, construction and the use of chemicals. We also concentrate on places where accidents occur or breach of regulations are identified. I think most people will agree such an approach is reasonable.
Most businesses appreciate the advice we give them following an inspection. More than 16,500 workplace inspections took place during 2010, over 70% of which resulted in advice being given. Our inspectors gave verbal advice in 30% of cases and written advice in 40% of cases. Enforcement proceedings were taken in 10% of cases. In the remaining cases, we said "Well done" to the employers and encouraged them to continue to do what they were doing. We are keen to play our part in maximising the efficiency of the broader regulatory framework when dealing with business. Where possible, we collaborate closely with other regulatory bodies to reduce the need for multiple inspections. We are actively supporting the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation's current programme of removing old legislation from the Statute Book. We are simplifying the whole area of compliance by giving advice, offering online guidance and providing a range of tools and instruments.
We have a particular focus on the small business sector because it tends to have higher accident rates. We are committed to making it easier for this country's 235,000 small and medium-sized enterprises to comply with their obligations. During the last quarter of 2010, we ran a series of consultative forums across the country to give such enterprises an opportunity to tell us what they want us to do. We spoke to them about the difficulties they face and asked them how we can simplify health and safety. On the basis of that feedback exercise, we have organised a major exhibition, which will take place at the National Convention Centre in Dublin on 16 February next. We have received over 1,500 registrations in advance of the event, which will be run with the support and active involvement of a broad range of more than 15 partners, including the Small Firms Association, IBEC and ICTU. We are developing an electronic online tool that will enable small and medium-sized enterprises to complete their own safety statements and risk assessments by following a simple series of steps. This tool will be made available to industries free of charge and will ensure they no longer have to engage the services of a consultant. It is hoped that the tool will make life much easier for them. We believe it will increase awareness among enterprises of their obligations and reduce any fears or concerns they may have.
It is probably fair to say there are many misconceptions about health and safety. We are keen to ensure the HSA supports a pragmatic and sensible approach to health and safety. We have noticed that some organisations use health and safety as an excuse for not getting on with important and necessary projects. We do not take the view that projects need to be shelved. We believe that pragmatic and sensible means of making progress can be found in all cases. That is the principle on which the law is pinned. There is a tendency for the media to apply criticism of health and safety in the UK to Ireland, even though the actuality on the ground differs significantly between the two jurisdictions. A criticism that is sometimes made is that health and safety legislation leads to excessive costs and forces the closure of businesses. We do not believe the evidence supports that case. Proper investment in workplace health and safety saves lives and reduces costs. I will cut to the chase by saying health and safety is not a show-stopper. If people use it as an excuse for not getting on with the job, they are misleading the public and probably themselves.
I would like to speak about the extent to which we are operating efficiently. In European terms, per head of population, the HSA is one of the smallest workplace health and safety regulatory bodies. In spite of this, Ireland's workplace health and safety record is one of which we are proud. In addition to the important reductions in the number of workplace fatalities and injuries over the last decade, a number of other positive trends are worth noting. A survey that was independently commissioned in 2009 by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, which is based in Bilbao, found that the level of awareness among the working population in Ireland of the importance of health and safety is the second highest among the 27 EU member states. Our overall record in respect of workplace health and safety, both in terms of fatalities and reported accidents, is in the top four in the EU. That is not a HSA figure - it has been verified independently by EUROSTAT statistics. We take pride in these facts, which are indicative of the value the authority provides to the Exchequer and the wider economy. It is obvious that this committee is very interested in comparative analysis of economic regulators. The Economist Intelligence Unit study, which was commissioned by the Department of the Taoiseach and published in October 2009, was quite positive in its comments on the HSA. It found that by comparison with international peer groups, the HSA is considered to be a strong performer.
In recent years, there has been a reduction in the level of funding allocated to the authority, in accordance with the general trend across the public sector. The authority's budget has been reduced from €24.4 million in 2008, to just under €22 million in 2010 and has been further reduced to €20.5 million for 2011, which is a 16% reduction. Staffing levels in the organisation have fallen from 197 in 2008 to 185 and continuing downwards.
In response to these changes, we have reorganised our operations over recent years to achieve the highest levels of efficiency in line with our scale and budgets. In 2010, we carried out more than 16,500 inspections, significantly up from the figure of 13,552 in 2005. Our ICT system enables us to become very focused and targeted on high risk sectors. We have introduced a wide range of efficiency measures and our new inspection system has resulted in a 10% increase in time spent by inspectors at workplaces and in targeting workplaces that require attention.
Our workplace contact unit, or call centre, handles more than 30,000 calls per annum. Since 2007, we have dealt with more than 2,500 queries on the economic aspects of chemical regulation. Since the latter quarter of 2010, we have been using technology webinars to engage with participants in Ireland and as far a field as Hong Kong and a number of EU states.
We are conscious of the need for joined-up thinking among State agencies and to this end we have bilateral relations with 20 other organisations, ranging from memorandums of understanding for example with the Garda Síochána, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, the Department of Education and Skills, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Commission for Energy Regulation and many more.
Ireland has made significant progress in health and safety in the workplace, measured by the reduction in the number of fatalities and workplace accidents over the decades. The authority is conscious of the challenges facing Irish business. We are committed to working with industry in a supportive way. A number of new challenges have arisen that have seen workplace health and safety regulation either ignored or used as an excuse for inaction by Irish organisations. The authority is confronting these problems and is going out and meeting organisations and advising them on a sensible and pragmatic approach. We are also keenly aware of our responsibility to continue to improve the efficiency of our operations. Research has shown that, in spite of our comparatively modest size and funding levels, we are delivering top-level outcomes in terms of workplace health and safety. We are strongly committed to continuing to deepen co-operation with our regulatory partners in order to reduce unnecessary burdens on business. That will be a major focus in 2011. I thank the Chairman.
