Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 63: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the recent study carried out by the Health and Safety Authority suggesting that safety regulations introduced in 1995 have had no impact on the type of accidents occurring on building sites; the action she intends to take to address this situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13828/04]

Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I would not agree that the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 1995 and their replacement regulations in 2001 have had no impact on preventing accidents occurring on construction sites. The significant resources dedicated to inspecting construction sites by the Health and Safety Authority and the co-operation of the major players in the industry in the construction safety partnership have contributed to a steady reduction in fatality rates from a high of 11 fatalities per 100,000 at work in the construction sector in 1999 to six per 100,000 in 2003. However, this rate remains twice that of the economy as a whole. This is unacceptable and requires that vigilance and continued effort be made in the prevention of accidents in the sector.

I assume the Deputy is referring to studies entitled An Examination of Dutyholder Responsibilities: Fatal Construction Accidents 1997 — 2002, published December 2002, and Fatal Accidents in the Construction Industry 1991 — 2001: A Survey of Contributory Factors, published December 2003, which are both available in PDF format on the HSA website. This clearly indicates that more than 25% of the underlying factors behind fatal accidents are due to failures at the pre-construction stage. The Health and Safety Authority has recommended further updating of the Construction Regulations 2001, which seek to address this issue by making existing obligations upon clients, designers and those responsible for co-ordinating safety and health throughout construction projects more specific. The legal drafting of those regulations is now in train and I hope that they will be ready for signing later this year.