James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will go straight to questions as we are under some time pressure. I will start with the representatives from the HSA. I thank them for their contributions. Other witnesses spoke at our earlier session about various regulations that could have been put in place but that are not in place. I refer specifically to the categories of notifiable illnesses in this regard. If a worker at a meat plant or any other workplace contracts an infectious disease, whether contracted in work or brought in, there is no obligation to report that to the HSA. However, if a worker were to trip on loose machinery or injure himself or herself on a floorboard, that would have to be reported. There seems to be a lacuna. I am aware that this requirement was included in the primary legislation, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, and was then taken out on foot of a ministerial order in 2016. We have heard testimony from the unions that it would be very helpful to reintroduce that requirement. What are the HSA's views on the matter? It is my understanding, and perhaps the witnesses can elaborate on this, that were Covid a notifiable illness, the HSA would have a range of sanctions, powers and inspections available to it and its teams. I ask the witnesses to comment on that first.