Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 September 2020
91. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if workplace outbreaks of Covid-19 will be made notifiable to the Health and Safety Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22415/20]
View answerCOVID-19 is a notifiable disease under the Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Regulations 2020. Any infectious disease pandemic is first and foremost a matter of public health for which a legal basis for reporting already exists under public health legislation. Notifiable infectious diseases are statutorily reportable under the above Regulations to the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Health for investigation and control. A list of notifiable diseases can be found on the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre website -
https://www.hpsc.ie/notifiablediseases/listofnotifiablediseases/
Under occupational safety and health legislation, employers are required to report all workplace accidents that result in more than 3 days absence. Generally employers would not be able to attribute the diagnosis of an illness such as COVID-19 with any degree of reliability, to a particular workplace, since COVID-19 can be acquired in either a community or a workplace setting.
I understand that the Board of the Health and Safety Authority has requested a review of the reporting obligations concerning infectious diseases in the context of employer obligations under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. It is expected that this review will be completed shortly, and I have asked that this review be submitted to my Department for consideration.
