Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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387. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps taken to advise the boards of management and principals of primary schools on the procedures that they must undertake to ensure the schools full compliance with the statutory health and safety requirements in the workplace; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32135/13]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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388. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps taken to advise boards of management in primary schools on the procedures that they must undertake to ensure the health, safety and welfare in the workplace of principal teachers in view of the significant increases in their workload; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32136/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 387 and 388 together.

The body which has statutory responsibility for ensuring that health and safety requirements are met by all employers, including schools, is the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). The Authority also provides information and advice to organisations, including schools, to assist them in ensuring that their responsibilities in respect of health and safety in the workplace are met.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 sets out the responsibilities on individual school management authorities to have a safety statement in place in their schools. The Statement should identify potential hazards, assess the risks to health and safety and put appropriate provision in place to safeguard the safety and health of employees and pupils.

The HSA has published resources specifically for schools to support them in managing health and safety in the school environment. It also provides a number of online training courses specifically for the school sector. Further details on the advice, resources and training courses available from the HSA can be obtained from the HSA's website www.hsa.ie.