Speech by Mr. Tom Kitt, T.D., Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs, At the Presentation of International Safety Accreditation (OHSAS 18001) to John Sisk & Son on Monday 4th December, 2000, 11.30am, Croke Park

Thank you for inviting me here this morning to the presentation of this International Safety Accreditation to John Sisk & Son.

As most of you here will be aware, the construction industry is currently enjoying unprecedented growth. The volume of building output is expected to grow by 9% to reach over £14 billion in 2000 and this is following growth of 12% in 1999. Building output has doubled over the six-year period between 1995 and 1999. One significant consequence of this growth is the dramatic increase in the numbers employed in the industry. In 1995 there were 97,000 in direct employment in construction and it is likely that there will be 170,000 employed at the end of this year. The total building workforce at the beginning of this year is estimated by the Department of the Environment and Local Government to be 13.5% of the total workforce, which makes the construction industry a key component of our economic success.

Much of the focus of public attention in the Construction sector these days is on the house building sector due to the high demand for houses and the accompanying high prices for houses - but safety in the construction sector, with or without the backdrop of an economic boom, is also a pertinent and relevant issue. The developments in the industry have, in turn, created their own challenges for each and every employer and worker in ensuring that health, safety and welfare on site is given the priority it deserves.

There are other statistics in relation to the construction sector, which, unfortunately, do not show it in as good a light. I am referring of course to the number of work-related deaths and injuries in the industry, which have remained stubbornly high. While the construction sector may continue to boom we cannot allow this boom to happen at the cost of the lives or health of those who work in the sector.

Health and safety standards in the construction sector have been the focus of much attention and indeed, at times, dissension, over the last few years and many different approaches will have been suggested from many different quarters as to how best to remedy the problem. The most significant approach to tackling health and safety standards has been the establishment of the Construction Safety Partnership which led to the development of the Construction Safety Partnership Plan and the launch of the Safety Representatives Pilot Project.

The Partnership, which is composed of representatives of the relevant players i.e. the State, the employers and the workers, produced a Construction Safety Partnership Plan earlier this year. It is a three year plan aimed at improving occupational safety, health and welfare standards in the construction industry. The recommendations of the Partnership Plan cover measures to improve safety consultation and safety representation, safety training, introduction of safety management systems and increased inspection activity by the Health and Safety Authority.

The Partnership Plan is, in my view, a ground-breaking development which is both ambitious and realistic, with the potential to make a very real difference in relation to the practical application of health and safety standards on construction sites. I believe it will, in the long-term, help to bring about a fundamental change of attitude, perception and culture in the sector.

One of the kernels of the Partnership Plan is the Safety Representative Pilot Project, aimed at ensuring that sites have proper safety representation. I had the privilege of launching that Pilot Project at this very site in June. I understand the response from the industry has resulted in the election of 30 new Safety Representatives. This project has huge potential to make a positive impact at grass roots level. A safety representative is not a threat, but is an asset to both his work colleagues and to his managers and employer.

The Health and Safety Authority is the State agency with responsibility for the administration, enforcement and promotion of workplace health and safety legislation in Ireland. However, the work of the Authority, in order to be truly effective at workplace level, needs to be complemented by an "in-house" expertise in every workplace which will ensure that safety is an integral part of management policies and structures and which will allow all players to meet fully their legal obligations.

The attainment of this International Certification by SISK shows that this is a construction company with an awareness of the need to make a visible commitment to an effective occupational health and safety management system. But in many ways this is only the beginning. Health and safety management is an ongoing and ever-evolving concern and nowhere is this more true than in the construction sector. Certification such as this will be one of tools by which management in any company can pro-actively manage safety, which is far preferable to simply reacting to poor safety standards.

I commend and congratulate SISK on achieving this accreditation. The importance of health and safety to a business is that it is an ongoing essential component of that business as much as cost control or quality control. Poor health and safety practices could mean the loss of someone’s life and, unlike an economic loss, this is not something from which there can be a recovery or retrieval. Health and safety can no longer be an "add-on" function to other duties - it is incumbent upon all business practitioners to make it a dedicated function of their business.

Safe work practices are sound business practices. A workplace accident is a cost to the State, to the individual employer and most obviously to the injured employee. Occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities cost an estimated 2% of GDP.

So obviously safety also makes sound economic sense, and like all booming sectors the construction sector should be planning and preparing itself as an employment of choice amongst young people in the years to come. There is definitely a growing awareness of workplace health and safety amongst the general public and in the context of an increasingly mobile, educated and demanding workforce, having a high standard of workplace health and safety will certainly be a selling point for any good employer.

The Irish Construction Industry, and its workforce, is one of the largest industrial sectors in the country, contributing significantly to the national economy. It is critical to future prosperity and success, and to the improvement of our economic and social infrastructure. It is also one of our largest employers and therefore it behoves the industry to set a positive example in providing the highest of health and safety standards. With 170,000 people availing of direct employment in the construction sector there are far too many people to be put at risk.

So, yes, while some progress on safety is being made, the challenge now is both to maintain and improve upon this progress. The 21 fatalities in the construction sector so far this year, are testament to the fact that health and safety in the sector is still literally a life and death issue, and there is no room for complacency.

Thank you for your time and attention here this morning, and I wish everyone success with the work ahead.