Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. It is important to say a few things about construction. Not everything we hear about construction is bad. There are a hell of a lot of good builders and subcontractors in construction and they are all doing the best they can. Construction is an industry where every site is different and throws up new challenges, and can even be different in respect of the type of ground and building being erected.

When we are talking about construction, we need to tackle several elements. Health and safety should be embedded in everyone from the day they even start thinking about going into construction. It should be introduced as a subject in secondary schools in the secondary cycle so that students, boys or girls, will get an understanding of safety in the construction industry and how it works. This is important because if they go on to do an apprenticeship, at least they will have a basic understanding of what to watch out for. The training of apprentices is extremely important. The rate being paid to apprentices starting off is a deterrent to more people going into these programmes. Equally, employers should also be given more encouragement to take on apprentices to ensure they can have the vital supply of skilled workers throughout the life cycle of the construction industry

Having said all that, in the context of having regulations, licensing and so on, the most important issue is there not is independent enforcement of these. I would like to mention a body that will actually make a difference in this regard. People talk about cowboy builders and all this kind of thing. I do not accept that. I do, however, believe we need regular independent inspections of sites. Every site should be inspected on several occasions and this should be done on an unannounced basis so people will feel they must have things right not alone to save lives and ensure they are not lost, but to ensure things are being done right for the sake of doing them right. I have experience of seeing fatalities occur on sites where I was working. I pass those sites now and I feel they are not ones to be proud of because we lost somebody on them. It is important, therefore, that we reduce and eliminate fatalities. The crucial point is that independent inspections need to be resourced properly and the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, needs to have the people on the ground to ensure things are being done right and not just being seen to be done right.

In the past, I have found that paperwork dominates everything and simple practical things on sites are lost out on. Often, when accidents happen, they can result from a combination of several small things. What everybody runs for then immediately is the paperwork to see if they are covered. We must examine this aspect. Why are we introducing the regulations? Why are we introducing a licensing authority for tutors? Why are we doing all this? It is to ensure the system is working better. If everybody is running and looking at paperwork when something goes wrong, though, that is when we are in real trouble. This is not about paperwork; this is about saving lives and ensuring our buildings are safe to live and work in. This is the important thing we must get right. We do not need a plethora of more paperwork and rules and regulations that are being enforced on paper. We must ensure they are enforced physically and practically on the ground. Construction is a great sector to work in for men and women. We must ensure that it is also a safe place to work and that people can be proud of their industry.

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