Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Hopefully, those issues will be resolved soon.

I welcome Ms Byron’s comments about a greater focus on smaller companies and organisations. That is important. Something that strikes me about the HSA is that it cannot be everywhere at all times. No matter how many inspectors it has in the field, it will not be able to capture every organisation. I agree with Ms Byron on the issue of culture, but how does one create culture on the ground? There can be training in leadership for those who run the companies, but workers having a greater sense of participation and a greater say in how the companies are organised is also important. Therefore, there needs to be union recognition and a lack of hostility towards unions in workplaces. Following on from Deputy Barry’s comments, will the HSA consider how it could improve culture within workplaces? “Culture” is an enormous phrase, but to break it down, it cannot just be about training. It also has to be about worker participation and trade unions. Could that be a part of the HSA’s future work programme on improving culture if we are to live within these resource constraints and not have thousands of inspectors out in the field?