I propose to take Questions Nos. 141, 145, 176, 229, 231, 251, 252, 292 and 311 together.
Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013, construction workers in Ireland are legally bound to hold a valid Safe Pass Registration Card to access construction site. The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation recently amended these regulations to extend the validity of Safe Pass cards with an expiration date after the 1st March 2020 until SOLAS Safe Pass training has restarted.
SOLAS has examined the potential for online delivery as a means of continuing national construction health and safety courses while adhering to public health measures. I am advised that no immediate solution has been identified that is equitable with the existing Safe Pass course delivery model, in being accessible to all eligible workers, provides real time course participants supports (literacy and numeracy) and interpreter services, as well as ensuring assessment integrity. As the training authority, SOLAS does not have the authority to issue temporary Safe Pass cards in the absence of associated education and training.
In terms of the delivery of face to face training, planning is well advanced to support delivery of Safe Pass training within health and social distancing guidelines once public health considerations provide for the return to training for this cohort of learners. The inclusion of the resumption of Safe Pass training in Phase 2 of the Government’s Roadmap is under consideration at the current time, particularly in the context of the adverse effect of non-availability of the training on safe access to construction sites for workers and on employment opportunities in the sector.