Statement by Mr. Tom Kitt, T.D., Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs

I regret the tone adopted by SIPTU in its recent Press Release concerning health and safety in the construction sector.

I emphatically reject the assertion made by SIPTU that I, my officials or the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) operate on the basis that there is an acceptable level of deaths in the construction sector. Such comments are not just both unhelpful and misleading, but are completely untrue. I have stated on very many occasions that one workplace death is one death too many.

It is somewhat disingenuous of SIPTU to give the impression that no effort is being made to improve health and safety standards in the construction sector. SIPTU is aware from its membership of both the Board of the Health and Safety Authority and of the Authority's Advisory Committee on Construction Safety, that consistent efforts have been made, particularly over the last eighteen months to create a genuine safety culture throughout the construction sector. This has involved the HSA, working in conjunction with the Trade Unions and the Construction Industry Federation.

The effectiveness of such a partnership approach should not be underestimated. So far this year, the number of fatalities are well down on last year's figures. This is an indication that a partnership approach to creating a culture of safety brings about genuine improvement. I believe that not only does the pace of such improvement need to be quickened, but a genuine spirit of partnership and co-operation between the HSA, the employer and employee representative groups must be carried through to site level where real differences can be made. I have asked employers and workers in the construction sector to engage in a partnership approach at all levels. I have asked the HSA to assist and support this process. While the HSA, which has been given extra resources over the past two years, continues to target the construction sector it is my belief that significant improvements call for more active co-operation between employers and workers.

I also reject claims made by the Dublin Alliance of General Construction Operatives that proposals put to me by SIPTU last year had been snubbed. I have examined these proposals in detail with SIPTU, CIF, my officials and the HSA. A consensus of opinion could not be reached on the merits of these proposals. A full review of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989 is currently underway. This will examine any legislative changes which would make the protection of the safety, health and welfare of all workers more effective. Proposals for legislative change will be put before the Board of the HSA. On this basis, both employers and workers will have had a full input into the review process, as both have equal representation on the HSA Board.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sympathy to the family and work colleagues of the young man tragically killed on a Dublin building site earlier this week and indeed to all those who have been bereaved as a result of accidents at work.