Address by Minister for Labour Affairs, Mr. Tony Killeen, at the presentation of health and safety certificates to schools

On Monday 15^th May in West County Hotel, Ennis

I am proud to be here in my own county taking part in what I think could have a profound influence on the school curriculum and in your working lives in the years ahead.

I hope you will be proud to say that you were there in Ennis on the day that it all began.

Every year, people say goodbye to their wives, husbands, partners, children; they walk out their front doors and they don’t come home that evening. They don’t come home because they have been killed at work.

Already this year 13 people have died at work in this country. Last year 73 people lost their lives in work-related accidents. Thousands more are injured. Each death and serious injury is the story of a human tragedy, the story of a life destroyed and the repercussions are immeasurable for families, friends and work colleagues.

This is why, when the Chairman of the Health and Safety Authority, Jim Lyons invited me to this awarding ceremony - I didn’t have to hesitate. I believe that bringing safety into the classroom can make the single biggest difference to keeping young people safe throughout their working lives.

And I pay tribute to Jim Lyons for pioneering this innovative approach in the 15 schools that took part across four counties - Galway, Mayo, Roscommon and Clare. Jim was supported in this initiative by the members of the Western Regional Advisory Committee of the Authority who have been working actively in the field of safety education for a number of years.

I support Jim’s efforts and the efforts of the Health and Safety Authority to make safety a mainstream element of the curriculum in our schools – at both primary and secondary level.

We need to bring the safety message into every level of education so that it’s the first thing we think of no matter what activity we’re about to undertake – whether it’s driving a car, serving food in a restaurant or operating a machine – the principles are the same. If we have the skills to identify hazards, assess the risk and do something about it, then we’re significantly reducing our chances of having an accident, whether in or out of work. These are valuable life-skills and should be recognised as such.

I pay tribute to you - the educators, teachers, Principals and school managers for recognising the importance of fostering this ‘safety-first’ attitude and finding the space in your busy timetables to roll-out this health and safety programme. I also pay particular tribute to teachers, for your professionalism and for taking the time to attend a significant level of training in advance of delivering each unit of the programme.

It is projects like this that are going to make a real difference to the lives of our young people because they are about learning the skills of keeping yourself and others safe. I believe that every accident is foreseeable and preventable. It is simply not acceptable that any worker could lose their life just by turning up for work.

The Central Statistics Office estimate that there are over 300,000 workers aged 15 to 24 in the Irish workforce, almost 60,000 of them in the construction sector. This is a high-risk sector so we need to get the message across early.

Statistics at European level suggest that young workers (aged 18 to 24) are 50% more likely to suffer a workplace accident than other workers. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work suggests that the higher accident rate among young workers may be due to several factors, including lack of training, experience and awareness of occupational safety and health, their immaturity, both physically and mentally; and the types of jobs and employment situations in which they are placed.

Aside from the horrific human tragedy that accidents at work inflict on victims and their families we must also recognise that accidents cost this economy over one and a half billion euro per annum, business almost one billion euro. The cost to the state is somewhere between €280m and €500m, plus healthcare costs.

It is also very appropriate that I am with you today not least because the Health and Safety Authority along with the European Agency is focusing this year on the issue of young people in the workplace. The Safe Start campaign to be launched here in June aims to promote a safe and healthy start for young people to their working lives. This pilot is an excellent example of how the education system at post-primary level can play its part.

The campaign will have several targets including:

• Young workers – promoting awareness of occupational health and safety risks and what to do when starting work.
• Employers – promoting the provision of training and supervision, suitable work allocation and what to do when a young person starts work.
• The Education Community – promoting risk awareness and prevention as an integral activity for schools and colleges, training providers and education authorities.

I would finally like to pay a special tribute to you, the students who have undertaken this programme of learning in health and safety. It is your participation, enthusiasm and feedback during a project like this that makes a huge difference to its future direction, its success or failure. I hope that you enjoyed participating in what will be the beginning of the introduction of safety education into classrooms across the country in a more formal way.

ENDS

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