Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes. I met some of the families that are working with the HSA and have lost loved ones through farm accidents when I was at the ploughing. They are doing excellent work in trying to increase awareness and I think we would all want to support that.

None of the new posts identified in the draft workforce plan relates to the farm safety inspectors, actually. In respect of the farming sector, the draft workforce plan states that farming inspectors are resource-intensive and that the authority has actually developed new ways of engaging with farmers, such as the various farm walks and knowledge transfer groups. They are approaching some of the work around farm safety in a different way, other than through straight inspection. It is about engaging in these kind of events as well. They have reported that this kind of engagement - I accept that inspections have a role - has the potential for a long-term impact with farmers, along with more targeted inspection campaigns.

Senior officials from my Department are meeting Mr. O'Halloran tomorrow to discuss the HSA draft workforce plan. The number of inspections did fall in recent years due to staff reductions and changes in the character of inspection activity, notably in the farm sector. They have engaged in smarter work practices in order to ensure the message of improving workplace health and safety continues to reach the largest possible audiences. The kind of initiatives they are taking include the development of the BeSMART online risk assessment tool, the publishing of e-learning courses in the agricultural area and the introduction of a programme of informative farm walks. They have also updated the HSA's inspection data management system to increase the ease and efficiency of data entry through a simplified system and a new smartphone-based field inspection data app.

It is a bit like what we were saying about Enterprise Ireland. They are finding new and sometimes more effective ways of working. Most inspections are targeted at the high-risk sectors such as construction, agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, mines, quarries, the transport of dangerous goods by road and the chemical sector.

Following the end of the moratorium on public service recruitment, my Department has given the HSA sanction to replace the number of inspection staff who left the HSA in 2016 and 2017. The organisation is currently in the latter stages of recruiting 11 inspectors who, subject to the acceptance of contracts, etc. should be able to start work in quarter 4 of this year. The organisation is changing some of the ways it works but it is also recruiting extra inspectors.