Address by Mr. Tom Kitt, T.D., Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs, at the Launch of the Health and Safety Authority’s Major Awareness Initiative on Friday, 16th June, 2000, Dublin Castle

Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very pleased to be here today for the launch of the Health and Safety Authority’s Major Awareness Initiative.

The purpose of this Awareness Initiative is a straight forward one - it is to promote a greater awareness of workplace health and safety within Irish workplaces generally, but targeting in particular the traditional high-risk sectors of construction and farming, including child safety on farms. These sectors still account for a significant number of the accidents in the workplace with unacceptably high costs both in terms of human suffering and business profitability.

The key message of this campaign is that accidents at work can be prevented. As you heard earlier a number of personalities have come on board to help promote the message that "accidents don’t happen by accident." This awareness campaign is very timely. It is a sad fact that in the year 2000 despite all our technological advances workers are still at risk of being injured or dying as a result of poor work practices. This is not acceptable.

Farming is a traditionally high-risk area, and the level of accidents in this sector continues to be a matter of great concern to me. In the past five years 106 people lost their lives on Irish farms - 79 adults and 27 children. These statistics speak for themselves and they are truly frightening. Simply put, an Irish farm is one of the most dangerous workplaces in the country. Irish farms are, with the very rare exception, the only workplace in the country where children lose their lives.

So to kick off the Awareness Initiative, next week has been designated National Farm Safety Week and the Health and Safety Authority, in conjunction with all the major farming organisations will be redoubling their efforts to ensure safer farms. But the ultimate responsibility rests with individual farmers themselves. Not bothering with the safeguards could cost your child’s life.

And, of course, as a farmer, you must think of your own safety too. If you are a farmer, I would urge you to use the week as an opportunity to identify the hazards on your farm. Decide how best to control each one and carry out the necessary improvements. Making this small investment in protecting your greatest assets - you and your family - makes sense. It could be the difference between life and death.

Later in the year a promotional campaign targeting the construction sector will commence. Increasing awareness of health and safety issues in construction is vital, the industry is booming, the number of persons working in the sector is steadily increasing but all of this is happening against a background of on-going fatalities and accidents within the sector. In 1999 there were 18 fatalities in that sector in addition to very many more suffering injury.

An Awareness Campaign like this can do a great deal to encourage the development of a health and safety culture within the industry and to raise awareness of the practical application of health and safety standards on construction sites. Safety is not simply about what happens on a site when an Inspector visits. Safety is about developing a culture within which everybody is conscious of both their own safety and that of their colleagues, and acts accordingly. Employers must provide the necessary personnel, financial resources and support systems to ensure that all work can be easily undertaken in a safe manner.

The Authority is the body with responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of workplace health and safety. Earlier this year I was pleased to be able to announce a substantial increase in staff resources which will allow the Authority to continue to carry out this role more effectively. However the provision of staff and resources for the Authority is only one element of the equation. It is as equally important that employers and employees take on board their responsibilities at all levels of the workplace.

This is the first time the Authority has had the resources to run a long term integrated Campaign such as this one, using a mix of radio and press advertising and public relations. I am delighted to have been in a position to sanction the money to make it possible.

The Awareness Campaign being launched here today is designed principally to alert people to health and safety issues and to stimulate discussion and debate of such issues amongst all people at work. The ultimate objective is to translate a better awareness of workplace health and safety into better and safer work practices, and I hope this will come to fruition especially within the main target sectors of farming and construction.

In conclusion I commend all those involved in this new Initiative and I wish you every success with it. I look forward to seeing the health and safety at work message on billboards, in the print media and to hearing it on the airwaves over the coming months. But most of all I look forward to the message getting through to all people involved with workplace activity.