Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 6:

In page 29, lines 19 to 26, to delete subsection (3) and substitute the following new subsection:

"(3) The risk assessment shall be reviewed by the employer where—

(a) there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates, or

(b) there is reason to believe that it is no longer valid,

and, following the review, the employer shall amend the risk assessment as appropriate.".

The current text of the Bill obliges an employer to review the risk assessment annually, regardless of whether there had been any changes or not. This could be an unnecessary burden for employers with low risk workplaces. There is also a danger that employers running higher risk workplaces will focus on the annual requirement and neglect their obligation to be vigilant and to keep the situation under constant review. It is preferable, therefore, to tie the requirement for the review to actual changes in the workplace and not to some arbitrary period of time. Where there are alterations to the environment, the employer will need to review more regularly, even if the last review took place recently.

With regard to amendment No. 9, the content of the safety statement is based on the identification of hazards and the assessment of risk. If it is accepted that the review of the risk assessment would be required every time there is a significant change, rather than when a period of time is elapsed, then it follows that the safety statement should also be reviewed in line with the changes. This amendment would delete the requirement for annual review regardless of whether there had been changes.