ADDRESS BY MR. TOM KITT T.D., MINISTER FOR LABOUR, TRADE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS AT THE LAUNCH OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY FEDERATION SITE SAFETY VIDEO TUESDAY 13TH OCTOBER, 1998

Thank you for inviting me here to-day to launch the CIF Site Safety Video.

The essence of good health and safety management can be captured to a large extent in a single attitude. Instead of saying "we will deal with it when it happens", we say "we will do our best to prevent it happening". Good preparation and planning is the key to managing health and safety. In turn, managing health and safety is the key to preventing and reducing occupational accidents and fatalities.

We must never allow ourselves to become complacent or ambivalent in our approach. Indeed, we need only look at the recent accident and fatality figures to be reminded that there is no cause for complacency or ambivalence. In 1997 the total number of fatalities for the entire year was 48, for the period January to September of this year the figure is already 45, with 16 of these occurring in the construction sector.

Preparation and planning is very much dependent upon the availability of good quality information, advice and training. This is the real value of packages such as this Site Safety Video. They provide information in a practical manner, and because of the specialisation and distribution network of an organisation such as CIF, the information is easily targeted at those who will get the most value out of it.

We have a comprehensive block of health and safety legislation in Ireland. But simply having legislation is not always enough, it must be translated into action. This is done not just by enforcement, but also by guidance and information. Without the pursuit of information dissemination all the regulations in the world would have a very limited effect.

During 1998 there has been extensive media coverage and public debate about workplace safety and, in particular, about safety in the construction sector. This, in its own paradoxical way, has helped to bring home the message that occupational health and safety is very much a legitimate business concern.

It is over simplistic to present safety problems in the construction sector as being solely as a result of non-compliance with safety legislation by unscrupulous employers. The reality is that employers and the workers and the State all have a finely balanced role to play. It is actually in the primary interests of all of these players to get the balance right. There is no one single loser when accidents and fatalities occur, we all lose. Occupational health and safety is probably one of the very few areas where you can have a win-win outcome for all players.

Given the complex and labour-intensive nature of building sites, it is vital that each individual knows what safe work practices are and takes personal responsibility for implementing them. Where each individual begins to take his or her own safety seriously then it becomes a matter of general concern and practice and a culture of safety takes root in the workplace.

I believe that partnership at both a local and at a general level has a huge role to play in improving site safety. I would encourage both employer and employee organisations to work together at all opportunities and at all levels, both formal and informal, to send out the message that safety is not the exclusive responsibility of either side, but requires a partnership approach.

I would also like to take this opportunity to commend CIF and indeed the other major employer and employee organisations for their positive and pro-active attitude on the issue of construction site health and safety and I would ask that we all co-operate to bring about real improvements in worker safety.