Launch of the Health and Safety Authority Annual Report 2006 – Aug '07

The Minister for Labour Affairs, Mr. Billy Kelleher, launched the Health and Safety Authority's Annual Report for 2006, and the Summary of Injury, Illness and Fatality Statistics 2005-2006, on 18th July 2007. The Minister emphasised that the two principle objectives for the Health and Safety Authority's (HSA) workplace safety strategy are to:

  • Persuade society, employers and employees of the need to put workplace safety at the core of everything they do;
  • Enforce the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, through an inspection and investigation system which will inspire confidence in all stakeholders.

In order to achieve these objectives, the HSA had a number of initiatives in 2006 including:

  • Increasing the number of inspections by 13%;
  • The Safe System of Work Plan (SSWP) for the Construction industry, which has been published in 8 languages, including Polish, Turkish and Lithuanian;
  • A Guide to accompany the new Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations, 2006;
  • A Guide to accompany the new Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Work at Height) Regulations, 2006;
  • The Simple Safety Series (practical tools to improve workplace health and safety in micro-businesses in the retail and food & drink sectors);
  • The REACH Regulations (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals).

The Statistics Report states that there were 50 work-related deaths reported to the Authority in 2006, which represents a decrease of 35% on the number in 2005. The highest number of deaths occurred in the Agriculture sector, with the Construction industry having the second highest number of fatalities. However, the Construction industry recorded a decrease in the number of fatalities from 23 in 2005, to 12 in 2006.

The HSA Annual Report and Summary of Statistics is available on the HSA website (www.hsa.ie).

For more information on Health and Safety, please refer to Chapter 9, in the Personnel, Policies and Procedure - the Law in Perspective manual.