The Deputy will appreciate that the first half of 2020 has been marked significantly by the Covid-19 crisis. For a period from late March until May, while investigations and associated work continued, very few inspectors were carrying out routine inspections in the normal way, due the measures taken to contain the spread of the virus. Over the last few weeks the inspectors of the Health and Safety Authority have focused their inspections on sectors and on businesses reopening in accordance with the Governments phased reopening of the economy with a particular emphasis on compliance issues relating to the Return to Work Safely Protocol.
Nevertheless, the agriculture sector remains a priority for the HSA and inspections are continuing in the sector. Currently
the number of inspectors available to carryout farm inspections as part of their inspection programme
is forty (40). The Deputy should note that these
Inspectors are assigned inspections in several different sectors including the agricultural sector.
The comparison on the numbers of farm inspections undertaken between periods in 2019 and 2020 are set out in the table below, and must be read in the context of Ireland’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Farm safety Inspections numbers
Period
|
2019
|
2020
|
1st January to 8th June
|
1,190
|
539
|
1st March to 8th June
|
705
|
59
|