In accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989, it is the responsibility of school management authorities to have a safety statement in place in their schools. Schools are obliged to identify possible hazards, assess the risks to health and safety and put appropriate safeguards in place.
Individual school authorities are responsible, in the first instance, for ensuring the safety and welfare of children and others in their care. It is open to school management authorities or individuals to make direct contact with the Health and Safety Authority in relation to matters of concern to them and my Department would not necessarily be aware of such communication. Where they are issued, notifications from the Health and Safety Authority are sent to the management authorities of schools, in the first instance.
Provision is built into the school building programme to enable schools to address urgent health and safety problems. Primary schools are given an annual allocation, currently amounting to €3,809 plus €12.70 per pupil, under the grant scheme for minor works which can be used entirely at the discretion of school management to address basic health and safety issues relating to the school infrastructure.
In addition, the summer works scheme was introduced during 2004 which provided capital grants for small scale improvement works at primary and post-primary schools during the summer holidays. A total of 457 schools were approved for funding under this scheme in 2004. The 2005 summer works scheme has recently been published with a closing date of 5 November 2004 for receipt of completed applications.
My Department also sets aside a contingency sum each year to deal with emergency works in primary and post-primary schools, including health and safety works. Urgently required health and safety works relating to asbestos removal, radon mitigation or dust extraction may be grant-aided under the remediation programmes operated by the school building section of my Department.
