Launch of the Health and Safety Authority's Annual Report for 2007 - July '08
The Minister for Labour Affairs, Mr Billy Kelleher, launched the Health and Safety Authority’s Annual Report for 2007 and the Statistics Report for 2006/2007 on 24th June 2008. The Minister noted that there were almost 14,000 inspections carried out by Authority Inspectors in 2007 and commented that he believed face-to-face contact with the Inspectors is a powerful influencer on health and safety in any organisation. The Inspectors focused particularly on adequate risk assessments, safety statement implementation, and the responsibilities of managers and directors.
The Minister highlighted the fact that there were 67 workplace-related fatalities in 2007, which was an increase on the 2006 figure of 51. Most of the rise in fatalities occurred in the Fishing and Construction sectors. However, there is a positive downward trend overall in the rates of injury and fatality in the Construction industry. Nevertheless, the Report stressed that it is important that the challenges the Construction sector faces in light of the downturn in the economy should not compromise the commitment to health and safety shown in the improved injury and fatality statistics.
Other points of note from the launch include:
- The Minister congratulated the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) on the publication of a "Safety Toolkit and Short Guide to General Application Regulations 2007" for small and micro businesses, which provides guidance on all elements of the General Application Regulations and practical checklists to help such organisations meet health and safety requirements;
- The Minister noted that data from the HSA indicates that manual handling incidents continue to cause most workplace injuries, and emphasises that such injuries are avoidable where a risk assessment is carried out and appropriate control measures are put in place.
The HSA's Annual Report 2007 and Statistics Report 2006/2007 are available on the HSA website (www.hsa.ie). The General Application Regulations, 2007 and the "Safety Toolkit and Short Guide to General Application Regulations 2007 – Small Business Edition" are also available on the HSA website.
Graphite will be updating the Health and Safety Chapter of the Personnel Policies and Procedures – the Law in Perspective manual in August 2008.