Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 143: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department has data indicating the extent to which radon is present in workplaces here; if an investigation has taken place into radon identification and remediation measures in the workplace; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37903/05]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and regulations made thereunder, which are administered and enforced by the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, require employers to identify the hazards arising in the workplace, assess the risks arising from those hazards and put in place appropriate elimination or control measures. The HSA advises that in accordance with risk assessment requirements, all indoor workplaces in high radon areas located in basements or at ground level must have radon measurements carried out. The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland is the national organisation with regulatory, monitoring and advisory responsibilities in matters pertaining to ionising radiation, including radon gas, that could be present at workplaces. The collection and analysis of data in relation to the extent of radon gas is therefore a matter for the institute.

The HSA has also, through seminars etc., informed employers located in areas likely to exceed the threshold limit value of their obligations under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 if the limit value in relation to radon gas is exceeded.