Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 3 Nov 1998

Vol. 495 No. 7

Written Answers. - Health and Safety Regulations.

Pat Rabbitte

Ceist:

102 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of deaths and injuries recorded in the building industry to date in 1998; the plans, if any, she has, to provide additional staff or resources to the Health and Safety Authority to reduce the number of accidents in the building industry; her views on whether sub-contracting in the building industry is contributing to the number of accidents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21632/98]

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Mr. T. Kitt)

The Health and Safety Authority is responsible for the day-to-day enforcement of health and safety legislation. According to the latest figures received from the authority there have been 55 workplace fatalities reported so far in 1998, of which 19 have been construction related.

In relation to the question of additional resources for the authority I have also recently sanctioned the recruitment of an extra 13 staff to the Health and Safety Authority. This is in addition to the seven previously sanctioned for this year and is a total increase of 20 personnel or 18 per cent. This is an indication of the firm commitment of this Government to protecting the health and safety of our workforce.

The total staff complement in the authority will now be 132, a significant boost to the resources of the authority. This will put it in a better position to meet the ever increasing demands being placed upon it and to continue to approach all of its work in a targeted and structured manner.

As part of the recently announced Health and Safety Authority construction action programme, which I launched in June, a team of dedicated construction inspectors has been established by the Health and Safety Authority to target unsafe building sites. They will also be able to offer advice and expertise to construction site operators in an effort to encourage and to being about improvements in health and safety standards.

The issue of subcontracting within the construction sector has received much attention recently. As regards the impact of subcontracting on health and safety standards, I should point out that the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989, and the 1995 Construction Regulations provide a solid legislative guide by which effective health and safety procedures can be managed in all forms of employment. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989, is a comprehensive Act which is applicable to all places of work, all employers and employees and to the self-employed.

Furthermore, the 1995 Construction Regulations are one of the most detailed pieces of legislation dealing with any one specific industry. These comprehensive regulations apply to all construction projects as well as to the maintenance of buildings. They place obligations on clients and designers to ensure that health and safety is taken into account before any construction work begins. They also place obligations on contractors and employees in relation to ensuring the safety, health and welfare of people working on construction sites. These regulations introduce the concept of a chain of responsibility thus making health and safety an integral part of construction work from inception through to completion.

I am not aware of any evidence to suggest that subcontractingper se is resulting in an increased accident rate in the building sector. In any event, regardless of the work practices employed on building sites they are all subject to the full rigours of the legislation. The 1995 regulations were specifically designed to address the range of work practices and varying forms of employment found on construction sites.

I appreciate the need for keeping our health and safety legislation under continuous examination and in that context I have already asked the board of the authority to review generally the 1989 legislation in the context of the tenth annivarsary of its enactment.