Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 December 2017
298. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to make changes in legislation that would give rights to employees in circumstances in which there is status red weather alert in an area in order to prevent dangerous travel to work (details supplied) and to protect income for lost work resulting from such a weather alert; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51965/17]
View answerThe national response to Storm Ophelia was coordinated by my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy T.D. and the National Emergency Coordination Committee. The primary piece of legislation relating to occupational safety and health is the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. Under this legislation employers, including the self-employed, have a statutory obligation to provide for the safety of their employees while at work. However, it should be noted that commuting to and from an employee’s normal assigned place of work, in the employee’s own private vehicle or using other modes of transport, is outside the scope of the legislation and beyond the statutory remit of the Health and Safety Authority.
Commuting to and from the workplace is a matter of public safety as opposed to being restricted to workplace safety. In this regard the voluntary closure by employers of their businesses during Storm Ophelia most likely contributed positively to a higher level of safety for the general public at that time.
I understand that the response to Storm Ophelia is being reviewed and a report will be prepared which will be submitted to the Government Taskforce on Emergency Planning for its attention before being submitted for the approval of Government in January 2018.
Changes to Employment Rights legislations, including any legislative changes to provide for the protection from loss of income during a “status red” alert, would be a matter for the Minister of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty T.D.
