Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 May 2020
410. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation further to Covid Query No. 5.546, the number of the 415 inspections carried out since March 2020 that were of workplaces in County Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7259/20]
View answerIn relation to PQ5546 asked by the Deputy for answer on the 11th of May. This PQ referenced a total of 415 inspections and investigations carried out by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) since the beginning of March to the date of that request.
Of the 415 inspections and investigations carried out by the Health and Safety Authority during this time, 217 resulted in reports of inspection being issued and 20 resulted in enforcement notices. The inspections were focused on core occupational safety and health issues. Since the beginning of March, 9 inspections have been undertaken which related to workplaces in Co. Tipperary.
On 18 May 2020, in line with Phase 1 of the Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, the HSA launched a national programme of inspections to check compliance with the national Return to Work Safely Protocol. Over 500 onsite inspections have been undertaken by the Authority (as of Friday 22nd May) across a range of industry sectors. As all of these inspections may not yet be recorded on the HSA’s system, it is possible that a further number of these inspections would have involved workplaces in Co. Tipperary.
The HSA has been deploying all of its available field inspectors across all sectors to carry out both spot checks and other inspections to check compliance with the national Return to Work Safely Protocol.
While the Authority is overseeing compliance with the Protocol, it has been recognised that given the nature of COVID-19, a cross Government inspection and compliance approach is required. To this end, a range of other inspection bodies will be mobilised by Government to also inspect and check compliance with the Protocol. The numbers of additional resources working with the HSA will be in the hundreds, from across the system. These will be specialist officials who already have sectoral business inspection responsibilities. Compliance with the Covid Return to Work Safely Protocol will become part of their normal inspection regime. It will start shortly with around 200 officers from the Environmental Health Service, and this number will increase steadily as officials from other parts of the system, with varying sectoral inspection and oversight responsibilities are brought on board, such as WRC inspectors, in line with the Government Roadmap.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has given his commitment that agriculture inspectors working within his Department will work with the Health and Safety Authority on ensuring the implementation of the Protocol in workplaces.
