Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I apologise for not being present in the House for the commencement of the debate. I was misinformed about the time required to debate Report Stage of the previous Bill, which I was told would take at least an hour.

I wish to re-examine this amendment. The Minister of State noted that risk assessments may be required more frequently than once a year. While I have no difficulty with that proposition, provision should be made to require an assessment to be made at least once per annum. If the Minister of State is amenable to providing that a risk assessment be undertaken annually or where significant change has taken place, I would have no difficulty. The problem is that an employer may take the view that no significant change has taken place, with the result that no risk assessment will take place for years. The latter would be dangerous.

The Minister of State pointed out that views have been presented to him from each side of the argument. I can only counsel that when dealing with health and safety legislation, he should err on the side of caution and have particular regard for practitioners on the front line who know how to create a safe environment. If they are of the opinion that this amendment is dangerous, the Minister of State should have regard to their view and not proceed with it.

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