Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 July 2020
53. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of whole-time equivalent inspectors employed by the Health and Safety Authority; his plans to recruit additional staff to the posts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17076/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Health and Safety Authority currently has 175.5 whole-time equivalent staff which is made up of staff in administration and inspector grades. Inspectors operate across all of the Health and Safety Authority’s statutory mandates covering occupational health and safety, chemicals and market surveillance of products. These inspectors may also be involved in either general inspection, specialist inspection or policy implementation at national, European and international level.
The current inspector headcount in the Authority is 105.3 whole-time equivalents. These inspectors operate on a regional basis throughout the country. To date in 2020, the Health and Safety Authority has recruited 7 Inspectors and there are currently 11 vacancies which it is intending to fill in the coming months.
In relation to the Return to Work Safely Protocol 67 Health and Safety Authority inspectors are available to carry out Protocol related inspections. However, the Health and Safety Authority inspectorate is being supplemented significantly by deploying other inspectors from across the system who already have an environmental health, agriculture or other workplace/business inspection responsibilities. These resources are being drawn from the Workplace Relations Commission, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the cohort of Environmental Health Officers. This has resulted in an additional 500 inspectors checking compliance with the Protocol as part of their normal inspection programme.
Separately, additional resources have been allocated by my Department to assist the Health and Safety Authority’s Workplace Contact Unit in providing advice and dealing with queries from employers, employees, safety representatives and others in relation to the Return to Work Safely Protocol. Additional resources for the Workplace Contact Unit are also being sourced through the Public Appointments Service.
The Health and Safety Authority will continue to review its inspection resources so that it can maximise numbers available to both check compliance with the Return to Work Safely Protocol and to also ensure that it can deliver on its overall mandate.
