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.”