Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 739: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason the death of a person (details supplied) in a road accident on the N59 at Murrivagh, County Mayo, on 22 December 2004 does not meet the Health and Safety Authority's definition of a worksite fatality, in view of Mayo County Council's admission that work was ongoing at the site where the accident, which was due to an unmarked temporary road surface, occurred; if he will meet the family of the deceased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1364/06]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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There was understandable upset at this tragic accident at Mulranny, County Mayo, where this young woman was killed in December 2004. I have replied to parliamentary questions on the accident and I have received a number of representations from the family concerned and from elected representatives. Following the accident, the Health and Safety Authority made inquiries and concluded that, although road works were ongoing on a stretch of the road, the work on the section where the accident took place had been completed, even to the extent that lines had been marked on the road. The authority wrote on 25 April 2005 to the family concerned and explained why it was not carrying out an investigation stating that the remit of the authority is confined to the investigation of occupational accidents and that the primary responsibility for investigating accidents which occur on public roads lies with the Garda.

I am not aware that the family wishes to meet me but I understand that the chief executive officer of the HSA had a meeting with the family of the deceased on 1 December 2005. As a result of the meeting, and the provision of new information by the family, the authority carried out a review of the circumstances of the accident with a view to establishing whether health and safety legislation governed the circumstances surrounding the accident. In this regard, two senior inspectors were appointed by the authority to compile a report. The report is completed and, as a result, a full investigation by the authority is following in line with its remit. The chief executive officer of the authority has been in contact with the family directly regarding the findings of the review.

Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 740: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the permitted levels of carbon monoxide to which workers killing mink in fur farming operations are allowed to be exposed to. [1366/06]

Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 743: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if inspectors from his Department have investigated the working conditions of persons engaged in killing mink in fur farming operations. [1377/06]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 740 and 743 together.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Chemicals Agents) Regulations 2001 (S.I. No. 619 of 2001) deal with protecting workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work. The regulations serve to ensure a workplace using chemical agents must have an associated risk assessment performed, outlining the prevention and protection measures required to adequately protect the safety and health of those involved, where there is potential for exposure to occur. The regulations apply to all workplaces and work activities where there is a risk of exposure to a chemical used which may potentially have an adverse affect on workers. The associated Code of Practice for Chemical Agents, published by the Health and Safety Authority in 2002, sets out designated occupational exposure limit values, OELVs, for more than 700 chemicals, including an OELV for carbon monoxide at 20 ppm — 23 mg/m3 — as the value not to be exceeded over an eight hour reference period. The OELV for carbon monoxide is applicable to all work places and work activities where there is a risk of exposure to carbon monoxide while workers are at work, including at mink farms.

Where a chemical is known to be used and where workers could potentially be exposed to that chemical, employers are required, under the chemical agents regulations, to perform a site specific risk assessment to ensure their workers are adequately protected against the risk of such exposures occurring, including the implementation of all necessary control measures to prevent exposure to that chemical. Inspectors from the Health and Safety Authority last carried out a series of routine inspections on a number of mink farms in 2002 and no major issues relating to workers' safety were identified then. The authority received no complaints regarding worker safety, health or welfare on mink farms last year but if complaints are received in the future, they will be investigated.