Ms Patricia Byron:

Tá an-áthas orm a bheith anseo inniu. I thank the committee for the opportunity to be here.

I was formally appointed by the Minister during the summer. To date, I have chaired two meetings of the board, one just before the summer and one after, and have had a detailed induction and briefings from the authority’s executive on its mandate, strategy and operations. I also met with the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, in September to discuss my role and to review current challenges and opportunities. I would like to acknowledge former chairperson Tom Coughlan and his board, and the chief executive and his team, for the work done to grow and develop the authority into a high performing and engaged agency that delivers on the key priorities for Irish society.

By means of an introduction to my own history, I have worked as a senior executive in the insurance and related financial services sector over many years. I was the first CEO of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, for over 11 years; an independent State body established to reform a costly personal injury claims environment. It is well established, as many know, at this stage. I am a past chairperson of the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland, where I led a key reform programme focused on business transformation and effectiveness. I currently work as a consultant in the financial services and health sectors. I also serve as a non-executive director on the board of the Central Bank of Ireland Commission and chair its audit committee. I am chair of the Health Insurance Authority board and was recently appointed chair of audit committee of the new Coimisiún na Meán. In my previous capacity as CEO of the PIAB, I have worked with the Health and Safety Authority on a number of risk minimisation initiatives. The objectives of both authorities continue to align.

I have now learned that the mandate of the Health and Safety Authority has broadened since my earlier days. Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, the authority protects the safety and health of workers and people affected by work-related activities. That is somewhat as it always has been but there are new and expanding initiatives. Under the chemicals mandate, there is a wide-ranging responsibility to ensure that workers, consumers, the public and the environment are protected from the harmful effects of chemicals. The authority has responsibilities under EU legislation for market surveillance of industrial products and chemicals. Finally, the authority also acts as the national accreditation body for Ireland.

The Health and Safety Authority’s vision is one of healthy, safe, and productive lives and enterprises. To achieve this vision, the authority sets out its priorities in a three-year strategy statement. The authority plans its programmes of work and assigns its resources to closely align with and support the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s strategy and the overall programme for Government. The most recent strategy statement for 2022 to 2024 commenced in a period of significant change for Irish workplaces as the economy and society emerged from the global Covid-19 pandemic. The board has recently completed a mid-term review of this strategy and I am pleased to confirm that it is largely on course to deliver its intended outcomes. I look forward to engaging widely as we work with the executive throughout 2024 to develop the next strategy for 2025 to 2027.

The authority seeks legal compliance through regulation and enforcement. Already I have been struck by the equal and appropriate emphasis on collaboration, promotion and influencing in order to maximise the authority’s contribution to prevention. The authority effectively leverages stakeholder networks at sectoral, national and EU levels. The tripartite board of the authority encourages and facilitates this collaborative approach through its nominating organisations and advisory committees. As a regulator, it is important to strike the right balance between promotion and enforcement. An inspection is not merely about identifying breaches. I am acutely aware of how the authority's inspectors engage actively and constructively with employers and workers across all sectors to encourage, foster and promote improvements. This is done by providing verbal and written advice and direction, along with additional supports that are available online. Of course, enforcement action is also undertaken as and when required.

In terms of progress in occupational safety and health, there has been an overall reduction in work-related fatalities in the past ten years and 2022 had the lowest fatality rate on record since the authority was established in 1989. However, as we know from the Road Safety Authority, one must keep vigilant at all times. It cannot be repeated too often that one death is one too many and I am very conscious that families, colleagues and communities are left devastated due to the lives that continue to be lost due to preventable work-related incidents. The authority maintains a particular focus on the high-risk sectors of construction, agriculture, health and social care, given the high rates of fatal and non-fatal injuries in these sectors. Importantly, the board of the authority has dedicated advisory committees to provide guidance and network support to the board in the construction and agriculture sectors, with a further advisory committee for the health and social care sector currently being established.

On key issues and the wider environment, Ireland's population now exceeds 5 million. Over 2.5 million persons are in employment. Against the backdrop of an expanding population, a growing workforce and changing employee expectations in a more blended and digitised working environment, the authority’s role in regulating its various mandates becomes increasingly complex. Based on the sanction received from the Department in 2021, the authority has increased staff numbers significantly, including establishing a new occupational health division. The board appreciates that the estimated 2024 funding will support the authority in its ongoing recruitment process and the onboarding of new staff, as well as continuing its organisational restructuring to better deliver on its broad mandate and changing work landscape. However, I am aware that the authority, like other agencies, is experiencing serious challenges in recruiting and retaining staff in a full employment market, particularly for specialist technical roles. To support its increasing workforce and the scope of its activities, the authority continues to transform its ways of working. There are significant strategic projects under way to introduce new technologies and structures to improve efficiency, planning, data quality and reporting to inform policy and decision-making. The board is monitoring and supporting these large-scale projects to ensure strategic benefits are delivered within agreed funding limits.

In familiarising myself with the organisation over the past number of months, I was heartened to witness the maturity of the authority's existing governance and accountability framework and of the multiple sources of assurance available to the board. I have been struck by the authority's ambition to become a truly evidence-based organisation. I know from my work in other environments that producing reliable, comparable and up-to-date statistical information is vital for setting policy objectives and to inform appropriate policy measures and preventative actions in order to optimise and deliver on our vision of healthy, safe and productive lives and enterprises.

As chairperson, I want to support the authority as it plays a key role to support many new developments in the economy. The first is regulating the area of new and sustainable energies. For example, the authority is assessing increasing numbers of land use planning requests for hydrogen production planning proposals. The authority is also responding to increasing chemical production and storage activity in response to Brexit, the Ukrainian war and climate change. As regards EU chemical policy, at European level, as the central competent authority under the Chemicals Act, the authority is working to influence EU chemical policy on the chemical strategy for sustainability and on the revisions of key chemicals legislation. We are also proactively promoting general awareness of the benefits of accreditation to drive new accreditation activity, which is an area I believe has huge potential to improve standards and productivity, and to ensure Irish companies can be as competitive and, indeed, as visible, as possible in the Single Market.

Expanding the authority’s expertise and capacity to address work-related psychosocial risks such as bullying, stress, violence and aggression, as well as safety and health issues associated with the gig economy and digital labour platforms, is all in our line of sight.

I thank the committee for its kind invitation to meet with it today. I look forward to bringing value to the authority and to working with Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, and his officials in the Department. Together with the board, I will support and challenge as appropriate the authority as it meets internal and external challenges. Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.