Construction and farming account for majority of last year's workplace fatalities
Within construction, there were seven fatalities recorded in 2022 compared to 10 the previous year. File picture
The State’s workplace safety watchdog issued more than 340 notices to cease dangerous activity last year as more than €1.2m in fines were handed out in the courts over breaches of legislation.
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) annual report for 2022 said it completed 11,150 workplace investigations or inspections last year, its highest level since 2013.
In all, it said that 27 lives were lost in work-related incidents last year. This is the lowest number on record since the authority was established in 1989, it said.
The construction and farming sectors accounted for almost three-quarters of work-related fatalities in 2022, with farming the highest as 13 deaths were recorded. Within construction, there were seven fatalities recorded in 2022 compared to 10 the previous year.
“Despite this reduced number in 2022, the authority remains all too aware of the risks and potential dangers within this industry sector,” the HSA said. “We will continue to focus on smaller sites and contractors to ensure that worker safety is a priority every day.” The HSA said its focus for inspections remain on the “high-risk sectors” of agriculture and construction, along with health and social care.
When it came to prohibition notices, which is a legal instruction directing that a specified work activity be stopped due to the level of danger that is apparent, the majority were issued in inspections of construction workplaces at 250 of the 343 issued.
The €1.2m in fines handed out in 2022 came from just 16 cases of alleged breaches of health and safety, and related, legislation. This includes fines of €225,000 for Irish Cement Ltd at Trim Circuit Court, where the HSA said an articulated tractor and trailer unit toppled when it was tipping a load, resulting in one person being injured.
Another case involved a €200,000 fine for Nationwide Crane Hire Ltd and a fine of €25,000 for Palfinger Ireland Ltd at Limerick Circuit Court related to breaches of health and safety regulations in an incident which resulted in the deaths of two workers in 2015. Both firms plead guilty, the HSA said, with the latter under appeal “on grounds of undue leniency,” it said.
A separate high-profile case involving the HSE led to a fine of €10,000 issued at Trim District Court, following an investigation into a serious incident of violence at Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan in 2016. The HSE pleaded guilty at Trim Circuit Court to four breaches of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.
In its annual report, the HSA added that it received 12 protected disclosures in 2022. These disclosures resulted in 10 enforcement notices being issued, while six of the disclosures are still being investigated.
The HSA also made reference to its role of market surveillance for chemical and industrial products, which led to 260 non-compliant chemical products being removed from the Irish market.
It said: “Following communications from the National Poison Information Centre in respect to poisoning incidents involving reed diffusers, we undertook a focused campaign where we found a high level of non-compliance with products having incorrect information or hazard labels.
“These products were removed from the market and awareness was raised among product providers and consumers.”
Operational expenses rose by over €2m and salary costs rose by €1.5m at the HSA last year.
