Plan aims to halt building site deaths

DRINKING and drug-taking on construction sites are to come under the spotlight in a new effort to curb deaths in the workplace.

However, it is not planned at this stage to subject suspected workers to breathalyser checks at site entrances.

Seven construction workers have been killed in site accidents this year but there is no evidence that drink and other substances were factors in their deaths.

"We have to assess the scale of the problem," Construction Industry Federation chief Liam Kelleher said yesterday at the launch of a new three-year safety partnership plan aimed at stamping out all types of building site accidents.

"It's something that high-risk sectors have to look at now," said CIF safety head Peter McCabe. "We have 100,000 new people in the industry.

"Many of them are young people. We can all see the late nights and the lifestyle that young people are into and construction people are well into that they're very active people, very sporty people.

"In construction and maybe with other high-risk sectors people have to be very alert, fit for work, and I think it's an issue we need to look at now because we have so many new people and so many young people," he added.

Earlier this year a survey showed that up to half building site accidents were due to site management shortfalls, whereas the worker was to blame in 24% of accident cases. Prompted by these results, the Health and Safety Authority recently resumed its earlier summer blitz on building sites.

Last June the HSA inspectors visited 250 sites and plans to double inspections in the current blitz. Last week the safety inspectors closed "at least four sites" according to a spokesman.

Labour Relations Minister Frank Fahy said construction firms that breach health and safety rules could have to pay on-the-spot fines under proposed new legislation.