Minister Kelleher launches Construction Safety Partnership Plan
New Safety Plan for the Construction Industry
The Construction industry has a lot to be proud of and has achieved much according to the Minister for Labour Affairs Billy Kelleher TD. He was speaking at the launch of the Construction Safety Partnership Plan 2008 -2010 today (Tuesday, 17th June 2008).
“There has been huge progress in the area of safety and health in the construction industry. Accident rates have been decreasing and this is due in no small measure to the fact that all the stakeholders in the industry have pulled together and come up with a number of initiatives that have helped to reduce accidents on building sites.”
The Construction Safety Partnership (CSP) was established in 1999 to try to come up with solutions to the poor safety record of the construction industry. Since it’s inception the CSP has lead a number of initiatives aimed at improving safety in the construction sector such as; the FAS SAFE PASS cards (888,000 of these issued since 2000), the Safety Representative Facilitation Programme (SRFP) and the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) (that gives the necessary skills to workers that are involved in safety critical activities).
Chairman of the CSP Kevin Kelly, says the plan published today is timely and appropriate for where the industry is now. “This 3 year plan reflects the challenges that lay ahead for the industry to keep safety high on the agenda. The plan has 6 clearly stated goals with responsibilities and timelines for delivery, I am confident that with the continued support of the state bodies and social partners we can continue to keep the downwards trend in accidents for the sector.”
Some of the key goals outlined in the plan are aimed at improving safety standards for non-Irish nationals working in construction and for small contractors as well as maintaining existing programmes.
According to Martin O’Halloran Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority, the membership of the Construction Safety Partnership is the key to its success, “the personnel that each organisation nominates to the Construction Safety Partnership re-affirms the commitment by the stakeholders to the partnership approach. The CSP is a great example of industry taking responsibility for safety and helping itself.”
ENDS/LA283
For more information please contact:
Mark Ryan, HSA: Tel; 086 8036141 / 01 6147068.
Notes for Editors:
The CSP was set up in 1999 against a background of an unacceptable level of accidents including fatal accidents in the industry. The aim was simply to improve worker safety on construction sites and to reduce accidents. Since that time there has been substantial progress.
The Construction Safety Partnership Plan 2008 – 2010 is the 3rd plan published by the CSP.
Goals of the CSP Plan 2008 - 2010
1. To implement a bench marking system to highlight best practice. (Lead organisation: CIF).
2. To review, through the Joint Safety Council, current trends in the industry, identify emerging issues and residual hazards with a view to developing joint information and promotional material which can help the industry achieve continuous improvement (Lead organisations: ICTU; CIF; HSA).
3. To implement procurement procedures that encourage health and safety performance, in particular for smaller projects. (Lead organisation LGMSB).
4. To achieve reductions in the high rate of injury for foreign workers. (Lead organisation ICTU).
5. To address health and safety for smaller contractors and projects. (Lead organisation HSA).
6. To maintain and continuously improve core achievements of the CSP to date including CSCS, SAFE PASS, Safety Representative Facilitation Programme (SRFP) and Safety Management Systems. (Lead organisations ICTU; FAS; CIF).
Membership of Construction Safety Partnership
Kevin Kelly Chairman, FAS, Construction Industry Federation, Health and Safety Authority, SIPTU, Department of Environment, Local Government Management ServicesBoard , Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment, Peter McCabe, Department of Finance, Engineers Ireland, ICTU.
Last modified: 17/06/2008
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