Address by Minister for Labour Affairs Mr. Tony Killeen T.D. at the IOSH Interconstruct Conference “Success built on failure”

In the Burlington Hotel Dublin

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to welcome you all back here this afternoon and a special welcome to Dublin to all of you who have come from around the world to take part. We look forward to hearing the experiences of our colleagues abroad.

I’d like to thank the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health for giving me this opportunity to have a few words with you all before you embark on the rest of today’s of exchange and learning on the important topic of safety, health and welfare in the Construction Industry.

I must also congratulate IOSH on the theme for this conference: Success Built on Failure. I think this theme offers us all the chance to engage in an open and honest examination of how and what we need to change to improve in our health and safety record. Too often the chance to learn from mistakes is lost because people are unwilling to speak up about where things went wrong for fear of blame. I am also very happy to see representatives from the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), Safety Institute of Australia (SIA) and Canadian Society of Safety Engineers (CSSE), along with speakers from other areas of construction here to share knowledge and pass on the benefits of lessons learned for the benefit of us all.

It is appropriate that this conference is being held in Ireland and in particular Dublin as is evident from looking at the skyline, the city is in the process of major construction operations.

It has often been said that health and safety is a thankless job. Credit is rarely given for success in averting disaster and professionals such as yourselves must be self-motivated to maintain the highest standards. With that in mind, I’d like to thank all our speakers for giving us the benefit of their experiences.

Irish Figures

Output in the Irish Construction Sector has risen by 80% since 2000. The Central Statistics Office estimated in a report last month that the value of output in the industry was almost €32 billion in 2005. 1 in 8 people employed here work in the construction industry. That is 12.6% of the workforce and compares to an EU average of less than 8%.

Earlier this year the Irish Health & Safety Authority published its own Summary of Fatality, Injury and Illness Statistics for 2004-2005. The statistics were grim reading for the Construction sector, with an injury rate at 54 per thousand in 2004 - substantially higher than the average across industry of 30.1.

Last year 23 people lost their lives on Irish construction sites; so far this year 8 have died. It is not a record we are proud of and the Health & Safety Authority is committed to rigorous enforcement to bring about change. It is also crucial that one of our economy’s most important sectors maintains a healthy, safe and vibrant workforce.

The Authority’s statistics also revealed an over-representation of foreign nationals in workplace accidents. Non-Irish workers in the construction industry are three times more likely to be killed at work than Irish workers. This issue highlights the need for effective communication in training and working practices.

What’s being done in Ireland - legislation

Occupational safety and health legislation is being modernised to support the Health and Safety Authority in its task. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 which commenced almost a year ago sets the scene for achieving further improvements in the national record on safety and health over the next few decades.

The primary focus of the Act is to encourage a responsible attitude on the part of both employers and employees to cultivate a culture of prevention of accidents and illnesses in the workplace. The Act also provides for significantly increased fines and penalties aimed at deterring the minority who continue to flout safety and health laws.

Section 17 of the Act sets out clear duties in relation to design and execution of construction projects.

Earlier this year I signed the first set of Regulations made under the new Act: the Work at Height Regulations. These set out specific requirements for organisation, planning and risk assessment of work at height, avoidance of risks, work equipment, fragile surfaces and falling objects – all of which apply to work places including construction sites.

I have also recently signed Noise, Vibration and Asbestos Regulations which introduce exposure limit values to all work places and develop on requirements for risk assessment and health surveillance. The regulations also bring our laws into line with similar requirements across Europe.

New Regulations will also shortly come into effect specifically for the Construction Sector. These will build on requirements in existing regulations and clarify roles in relation to design and management of construction projects. The regulations have been the subject of extensive consultation both by public forum and through the tripartite structure of the Health & Safety Authority. I’d like to commend the Authority, the social partners and the professional bodies in particular for their participation in development of these regulations. I firmly believe that consultation is invaluable in developing and fostering acceptance of good legislation.

Indecon Report

I recently launched the Report on the Economic Impact of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Legislation prepared by Indecon and while I am concerned that, based on the work done for the Report, the costs of work related accidents and ill-health to the Irish economy are estimated to be c. 2.5% of GNP, I am heartened by the findings of the one of the surveys carried out for the Report - the survey on the construction industry, which showed

• A majority of respondents (53.8%) believe that the legislation has led to a reduction in the cost of accidents;
• A sizeable minority (39.6%) believe that Health and Safety legislation has led to a reduction in insurance costs, while just 5% felt that they had led to an increase;
• The majority of construction firms believe that there has been a net benefit for their business arising from Health and Safety legislation.
• “Positive” responses on the impact of health and safety on various aspects of the business ranged form 59% to 82% of respondents

Partnership

In Ireland we have had a Construction Safety Partnership since 1999 where representatives from employers groups, unions, professional bodies and government departments convene to agree recommendations for improving the safety of one of our most important economic sectors. This forum has been fruitful and has overseen the introduction of many measures which have been adopted in Regulations, including mandatory safety awareness and training requirements for employees and the introduction of safety representation on sites.

When I spoke at the Construction Safety Summit in May the theme was not unlike that which we have today: Success through Partnership I said on that occasion there was potential for the Construction sector to become the first industry to formalise a Joint Safety Agreement in accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. This innovation would, in my view, have the potential to reinvigorate the partnership process with the Industry and bring about further improvements in the safety, health and welfare of all workers. I was encouraged by the opinions expressed at that Summit and I hope to see positive developments.

Training

It is vital to put the issue of health and safety at the very top of the agenda and it is for this reason that I commend the introduction of schemes such as Safepass and the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) under existing construction regulations. Safepass and the Construction Skills Certification Scheme will continue under the new Construction regulations. Awareness and training are essential in avoiding accidents and preventing injury and to keeping our labour force safe and productive.

These schemes have been very successful: to date over 560,000 Safepass cards have been issued while 45,000 workers in specific roles have received CSCS cards.

The safety and health of our workforce is in the hands of those directly involved, both employers and employees, and schemes such as the CSCS perfectly encapsulate this sense of shared responsibility from both perspectives.

It has been said that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing but in terms of occupational health and safety the most dangerous thing is a lack of knowledge. Knowledge, education and awareness are the cornerstones on which health and safety is built.

Safety Awareness Innovations

New challenges in occupational health and safety require professionals such as yourselves to be innovative and pioneering. Sometimes the solutions can be remarkably simple.

I mentioned earlier that in Ireland we have recorded a high fatality rate for construction workers from the new EU states. In January last year I launched Safe System of Work Plan on behalf of the Health & Safety Authority. This tool was developed specifically to tackle the language barriers that can hinder safe working conditions for all employees on construction sites.

The Plan is a Universal language for health & safety on construction sites, relying on pictograms in lieu of words to create an awareness of hazards. The system was recently awarded the innovation prize for good prevention practice in the in the Construction Industry at the recent world safety congress.

I understand that tomorrow afternoon Paula Gough from the Authority is going to speak to you about the success of the Plan here in Ireland. I am delighted that the Authority is able to make this contribution to the exchange of ideas taking place over these two days.

Success built on Failure

Today and tomorrow you will hear the experiences of your colleagues in many roles. You will hear of problems arising on major infrastructure projects, of language barriers, of training innovations, of technological change…. But most importantly you will hear what has been learned and what you can do to avoid or rescue situations that may arise in your careers and on your projects.

One of the keys to prevention of acccidents is good communication and, over the next day or so, many words and good examples will be communicated. The test will be whether we learn from what we hear to prevent incidents occurring.

I urge you all to participate over these two days, to give of your own experiences, share problems, share resources and continue to learn how to build safe, successful projects.

END

LA 203a