Crowe welcomes reduction in work related fatalities

Dublin South West Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe has welcomed figures released from the Department for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in reply to a Parliamentary Question which show a 32% reduction in fatal workplace accidents.

Deputy Crowe said: “To date this year, 17 workplace deaths have been reported to the Health and Safety Authority compared to 54 workplace fatalities that were reported for the whole of 2011.

“The up-to-date figures for this year show a 32% reduction in fatal incidents compared to the same period last year and a 23% reduction in non-fatal incidents. The drop in work related deaths and accidents is welcome but there is always room for further improvement as any fatality is a tragedy that often could have been avoided.

“I am also worried that the agriculture sector continues to have a disproportionately high number of fatalities. Of the 54 fatalities reported to the Authority in 2011, 22 occurred in agriculture and this as a high-risk sector that has been identified in the Authorities 2012 Programme of Work where 3,000 farm inspections are planned this year.  The construction sector will also remain a strong focus of its attention.

“The HSA’s Programme of Work, despite working under tighter resource constraints, has a comprehensive range of activities to make workplaces safer as it attempts to strike a balance between prevention, advice and enforcement.

“The Authority publishes Guidelines, Codes of Practice, web based compliance tools and other advice on workplace safety on a regular basis as well as organising sectoral seminars or conferences to promote the occupational safety and health message, as part of its advocacy role. These activities, together with the information on the Authority’s website, are of critical importance to all those in the workplace as we work to improve workplace safety generally.

“The day-to-day responsibility for workplace safety ultimately rests with the employer and employees and safe workplaces can ultimately only be delivered by those who control and work in them. This is why employers and employees most work together in order to maintain a strong focus on workplace safety.”