Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies who spoke during the debate yesterday and today for their contributions and their broad support for the Bill. I will comment on some of the issues related to the Bill.

As I said yesterday, the Construction Safety Licensing Bill will bring important reforms to the safety and health training of our construction workers. The Bill will reform how workers in the construction and quarrying sectors are certified to undertake specific activities, meaning that the sector will be moving away from the current practice, under the construction skills certification scheme and the quarries skills certification scheme, of certificates for life. These schemes currently provide for the training, assessment, certification and registration of non-craft operatives and provide vital skills and knowledge for our construction workers. However, we know from extensive consultations and reviews dating from 2017 up to the current time that there is evidence to support, and indeed an appetite for, the development of a licensing model. To enable this, a licensing authority will be established under this Bill and will oversee the administration of the licensing model I described.

I reiterate that at the moment our construction workforce is more important than ever before. This is borne out across many areas prioritised by the Government, not least Housing for All. Employment in the sector has been increasing since construction sites reopened after the pandemic and new opportunities for training and upskilling in construction careers have come on stream. As of the end of 2022, there were more than 163,000 people employed in the sector, representing 6% of our national workforce.

Deputies spoke about the number of incidents and fatalities in the construction and quarrying sector. This underlines the importance of ensuring workers are skilled in the activities in which they are engaged. It is crucial that workers feel safe carrying out their work and confident that they are receiving the best possible training to enable this.

Deputies also spoke about the importance of securing apprenticeship registrations in craft programmes and encouraging young people in particular. I am happy to advise that in 2022, registrations on construction-related apprenticeship programmes represented almost 68% of all apprenticeship registrations. Furthermore, SOLAS has made great strides in addressing the Covid-related backlog of craft apprentices waiting to access their off-the-job training placements, supported by the ongoing efforts of instructors and educators in training centres and higher education institutions. The continued high registrations across craft programmes demonstrate that there is undoubtedly an appetite for construction careers. Therefore, advancements such as those outlined in this Bill are hugely important to ensure that we continue to attract and produce a competent and well-trained workforce, including through the recognition of foreign qualifications.

The effective performance of our construction sector is crucial to realising this Government's key economic and social objectives and the enactment of the Bill will play a major role in achieving these.

Deputies asked how the licensing model that is to be established will work. Section 4 provides for the Minister to make regulations, including in respect of the licensing model. Section 12 sets out the functions of the licensing authority and Parts 5 and 6 of the Bill provide extensive detail on the new licensing model for workers, tutors and approved training organisations.

Deputies also spoke about the scope of the legislation, with one specific query about whether it will cover scheduled activities which take place on film sets. The definition of "construction work" is provided for in section 3 of the Bill and refers to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2006 and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Quarries) Regulations 2008.

The core objectives of this legislation are to raise the standard of health and safety awareness in the construction sector; to establish a licensing authority to oversee a licensing model for workers and tutors, and to act as the competent authority to recognise foreign qualifications; to administer a licence or approval once a candidate has successfully completed their examinations or application; to create offences for fraudulently obtaining a licence or approval; and to establish a register of licensees and approved training organisations. The overall aim of this Bill is to provide a new and comprehensive framework for the licensing of construction- and quarrying-related activities in Ireland. I am happy to engage further with any observations that relate to matters which are within the remit of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. I commend the Bill to the House.

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