Address by Mr. Michael Ahern T.D., Minister for Trade and Commerce

At the Presentation of OHSAS 18001 to Midleton Distilleries

At the Moran Silver Springs Hotel, Cork

On Friday 25^th April 2003 at 8.00 pm

Good evening to you all. I am delighted to be here with you tonight in recognising the efforts of the management and staff of Midleton Distillery in achieving registration to the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Scheme (OHSAS 18001).

The purpose of this evening's gathering in the Moran Silver Springs Hotel is to congratulate the Management, the Board of Directors and all the staff in Midleton Distillery who were involved in bringing this company to the point of meeting this most rigorous international specification.

The whole area of health and safety in the workplace is subject to increasing regulation and legislation and the NSAI is pro-actively working with all sectors of industry, to assist the development of effective health and safety management systems.

Most people will be familiar with some of the standards that the NSAI administers, such as ISO 9000 - a standard of excellence for a variety of services and processes that have been achieved by more than 2,000 Irish companies. What many will be less familiar with is the work done by the NSAI in setting standards in the construction industry, food safety and, most pertinently today, in health and safety, amongst many others.

I am delighted that we are joined this evening by the NSAI's Mr. Simon Kelly and Mr. Jim Harding.

As a local representative, I am fully aware that this is not the first international award that Midleton Distillery has received. It acquired certification to ISO 9002 in 1994. Under the first schedule of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Act, the Distillery was issued with an IPC License in October 1998. In November 1999 you were certified to the International Environmental Standard ISO 14001 and have since been classed as a top tier site under the COMAH (Control of Major Accidents Hazards) regulations.

Companies today face ever-increasing demands. These include the need to demonstrate to the various authorities, including insurance companies assessing risk cover, that their work places are a safe place to work. Most importantly however is the need to demonstrate to the workforce that a safe system of work is in place.

In recognizing all of this, the management of Midleton Distillery decided to document your safety system to the requirements of OHSAS 18001.

The sheer volume and complexity of legislative requirements imposed on an operation such as yours requires a highly structured, documented safety management system. Certification and surveillance, auditing by an independent body such as the NSAI, provides a high level of confidence for all parties concerned that the company is operating to the highest safety standards. In addition, a formally documented system provides for business continuity.

I want to congratulate every member of the management and staff of the Midleton Distillery for their work in securing this award. I know it was not secured easily; it involved a strong commitment, as well as time and co-operation from staff, to get to this stage.

As your local representative, I recognise that the programmes put in place will have long-term benefits for staff and the company.

There should be fewer accidents, there should be less absenteeism, lower medical and compensation costs and higher staff morale and from that, greater productivity.

This award reflects tremendous credit on everybody who works at the Distillery.

I am delighted to be involved in this presentation and I urge all involved to continue their efforts and their zero-tolerance approach to accidents in the workplace.

Congratulations to each and every one of you!