Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 June 2020
356. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if he will amend the relevant regulations to ensure that workplace acquired Covid-19 diagnosis will be considered as a workplace acquired injury or condition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13437/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra359. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the reason Covid-19 is not classified as an occupationally acquired illness under health and safety legislation. [13514/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 356 and 359 together.
COVID-19 is already a reportable disease under various statutes. In the first instance, it was included as a notifiable disease under the Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Diseases Regulations 2020. Any infectious disease pandemic is first and foremost a matter of public health, for which a legal basis already exists in Irish law under public health legislation and specifically under Infectious Diseases Regulations.
In addition, notifiable infectious diseases are statutorily reportable under the Infectious Diseases Regulations 1981 to the Medical Officer of Health for their investigation and control.
The reporting of COVID-19 incidents among healthcare workers is also a statutory requirement, reportable to the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
In relation to the reporting of COVID-19 related workplace absences to the Health and Safety Authority, there is no provision in occupational health and safety legislation for the reporting of cases of occupationally acquired COVID-19. Employers are not necessarily in a position to assess or attribute occupational disease or illness from COVID-19 with a degree of reliability since COVID-19 can be acquired in either a community or a workplace setting. Neither is there an obligation on employees to provide detailed confidential medical information to their employer. Any requirement on employers to capture occupational diseases and illnesses would have GDPR implications and would breech an individual’s right to the privacy of their medical information in terms of the relationship with their employer.
The Health and Safety Authority is fully aware of all occupational health and safety risks, including COVID-19, in healthcare settings and is engaged with the Health Service Executive, individual employers and places of work in this regard. The reporting of an accident to the Health and Safety Authority under current statutory reporting requirements does not necessarily result in an investigation. However, I would also say that any employee in any workplace who has a serious concern on an occupational health and safety matter can bring this to the attention of the Health and Safety Authority. Also, the Health and Safety Authority can also access necessary information needed to identify and investigate relevant cases in any sector and has legislative powers to request data from any employer, if and as needed.
As part of its role in promoting the prevention of risks to safety, health and welfare at work the Health and Safety Authority continues to provide resources, advice and support to employers and workers through its website and other means, including the operation of a confidential helpline for workers, employers and others.
Separately I would like to point out that it is the SARs-COV-2 (the virus that causes the disease COVID 19) that was included in the recent amendment to the Biological Agents Directive and not the disease COVID-19. The recent inclusion of SARs-COV-2 in the Biological Agents Directive provides that where the nature of the work poses an occupational exposure health risk to the virus, such as in laboratories, healthcare settings, etc, employers are required to ensure that an appropriate Biological Agents Risk Assessment is carried out. The existing Code of Practice for Biological Agents will be updated to include SARs-COV-2 and in the interim, the Health and Safety Authority has information available on its website (www.hsa.ie)
I understand that the Health and Safety Authority will be reviewing the statutory requirements for the reporting of workplace injuries over the coming weeks and will forward a report on the matter to my Department for consideration.
