Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 16 December 2016
538. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the amount the Health and Safety Authority spent on all safety initiatives in each of the years 2011 to date in 2016; the number of inspections it carried out in each of the years 2011 to date in 2016 in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40853/16]
View answerThe Authority depends upon the annual exchequer allocation provided by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (DJEI) to fund the implementation of its programme of work. Within that context, and informed by its current three year Statement of Strategy 2016-2018, the Authority prioritises initiatives in those areas where there is greatest risk and the greatest potential to maximise its efforts to achieve a continued downward trend in workplace deaths, accidents, injuries and ill health, and to increase the safe use of chemicals.
The Authority has invested significant resources in recent years in enabling enterprises to achieve compliance in the simplest, most cost-effective manner. The Authority’s BeSMART.ie risk assessment and management tool for small enterprises has been developed and expanded for the construction and agri-business sectors. The Authority also ran safety awareness campaigns relating to farming, construction, vehicle safety and fishing safety, along with promoting the BeSMART safety management tool to small businesses.
The Authority uses its non-pay allocation to cover a range of administrative ICT, accommodation, and other running costs, in addition to providing funding for information and awareness activities, including safety initiatives. Consequently, the funding provision for particular programmes, including safety initiatives (see Table 1), fluctuates from year to year as the Authority decides how to prioritise its non-pay funding in order to implement its programme of work.
In 2015 the Authority’s exchequer Grant was increased by €250,000 during the course of the year (following re-allocations made in light of the Department’s 2015 mid-year expenditure review) to facilitate special safety initiatives aimed at Agriculture and Construction.
In the current year the Non Pay budget decided by the Authority included a reduction in the provision for "safety initiatives" in 2016 in order to address other priorities in its programme of work for this year. These included developments affecting office accommodation, a necessary business process review arising from the integration of the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) and the replacement of the current manual system used in the INAB accreditation process, as part of the development of a new Client Management System (a commitment in the Action Plan for Jobs, 2016).
In October 2016, I was happy to support the Authority’s application to my Department for additional supplementary support (€340,000) in the context of the Department’s mid-year expenditure review and these additional funds were used exclusively for safety initiatives. I also understand that in framing its budget for 2017 the Authority expects to be in a position to allocate some additional funding to safety initiatives resulting from some operational efficiencies achieved during 2016.
Table 1
Amount of money spent on safety initiatives, 2011 to 2016
|
Year |
Estimated Spend on Safety Initiatives |
|
2011 |
€1.567m |
|
2012 |
€1.907m |
|
2013 |
€1.595m |
|
2014 |
€1.154m |
|
2015 |
€1.776m |
|
2016 |
€1.297 m |
Health and Safety Authority Inspectors carry out inspections across all work sectors and work activities that come under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (the 2005 Act) and the Chemicals Act 2008. Most inspections are targeted at the high risk sectors such as construction, agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, mines, quarries, transport of dangerous goods by road, or the chemical sectors. Other inspections can be part of a particular safety awareness campaign e.g. on manual handling, on slips, trips or falls or on compliance with the REACH Regulation. The Authority produces a Programme of Work each year setting out its plan for all areas of its work, including inspection targets.
The number of workplace inspections carried out from 2011 to 2016 (13/12/2016) is set out in the following table.
Table 2
|
Year |
Number of workplace inspections and investigations |
|
2011 |
15,340 |
|
2012 |
13,835 |
|
2013 |
12,244 |
|
2014 |
10,719 |
|
2015 |
10,880 |
|
2016 at 13 December |
10,049 |
While the falling inspection rates between 2011 and 2014 in Table 2 can be attributed to the loss of inspection staff, the programme of inspections continues to be targeted at the areas of highest risk. The Authority’s 2016 Programme of Work set a target of 11,165 inspections and investigations. It is expected that 92% of this target will be achieved with an estimated 10,250 inspections and investigations being completed by the end of the year.
A range of administrative and organisational factors impacted on the Authority’s ability to meet its 2016 target. These included the retirement and resignation of inspectorate staff, and increasing demands in areas such as Freedom of Information. Following the end of the moratorium on public service recruitment, my Department has given the Authority sanction to replace the number of inspection staff who have left the Authority in 2016. These posts are currently in the process of being filled and I expect the additional inspectors to be recruited by the Authority early in 2017.
