HSA chief condemns safety practices

IRISH industry has a very poor record of workplace safety and the situation is not improving, a conference heard yesterday.

Tom Beegan, chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), revealed that 61 people died last year in workplace accidents and the cost to the economy was approximately 1.6bn.

In a stinging attack on Irish managerial practices, he told the conference, organised by the Ireland southern district branch of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health: “If that 1.6bn had been lost as a result of industrial disputes it would focus the minds of Irish industry.”

Mr Beegan blamed the poor safety record on Irish management and he lamented the fact that inspectors from the HSA, the statutory body that monitors and enforces occupational health and safety law, had difficulty even contacting senior executives.

“We often find that we cannot make contact with the chief executive or managing director of a company. Safety is not treated as a serious issue by Irish management and the situation will not improve until it is.”

Mr Beegan also questioned the wisdom of one-day staff safety training courses without the will to implement real change in the workplace.

“It is a complete waste of money,” he said. “You might as well put your hard-earned cash on the 3.50 at Kempton for all the good it will do. Training must change behaviour; otherwise it is pointless.”

The HSA boss took issue, too, with certificate and diploma courses in occupational safety which, he said, were not specific enough to the needs of individual workers or different industries, particularly in relation to accidents caused by manual lifting.

“You should not have the same course for someone lifting a box of Taytos and someone handling a patient in hospital, but that is what we have.”

He warned delegates that the legal requirement for all companies to produce a safety statement would be vigorously pursued by the HSA. He added: “I hope all of us are back here this time next year, but the statistics tell us we won’t.”

From the opening address by the current IOSH president, John Lacy, the theme of prevention dominated the conference, which was chaired by Anthony Dinan, managing director of the media group Thomas Crosbie Holdings.

Many speakers agreed that more resources needed to be put into safer working practices, particularly in the light of new occupational safety legislation due to come into effect next summer.