Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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394. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of health and safety officers employed nationwide; the locations; if additional staff are being recruited or being brought in to support inspections; her plans to support this important element in returning to work in view of the challenges for persons returning to work in terms of health and safety; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8261/20]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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449. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the current whole-time equivalent staffing level within the Health and Safety Authority of trained, qualified health and safety inspectors, excluding corporate and support staff and excluding those on career breaks, long-term sick leave, maternity and other long-term leave; the geographical spread of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7921/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take questions Nos. 394 and 449 together.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has a full staff complement of 182 (176.2 whole time equivalents)which is made up of staff in administration and inspector grades. The inspector grades are comprised of Grade I (senior inspectors) as well as Grade II and Grade III inspectors. The Health and Safety Authority has 109 inspectors (104.5 whole-time equivalents) in the grade. It is important to note that not all of these inspectors are involved in field inspection duties. Inspectors operate across a large mandate including occupational health and safety, market surveillance of products and chemicals. The HSA has 67 field inspectors who have been assigned to inspect on foot of the Return to Work Safely Protocol.

Inspectors of the Health and Safety Authority operate on a regional basis as follows:

Dublin South City & County, Kildare and Wicklow; North Western Unit - Galway, Mayo, Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Longford, Monaghan, Roscommon and Sligo; Dublin North City & County, Louth, Meath; South West Unit - Clare, Limerick, Cork City & County, and Kerry; Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford, Tipperary, Carlow, Laois, Offaly and Westmeath.

The Health and Safety Authority has regional offices in Waterford, Athlone, Limerick, Cork, Kilkenny, Galway and Sligo with its head office in Dublin.

While the Authority is overseeing compliance with the Protocol, it has been recognised that given the nature of COVID-19, a cross Government inspection and compliance approach is required. To this end, a range of other inspection bodies will be mobilised by Government to also inspect and check compliance with the Protocol. The numbers of additional resources working with the HSA will be in the hundreds, from across the system. These will be specialist officials who already have sectoral business inspection responsibilities. Compliance with the Return to Work Safely Protocol will become part of their normal inspection regime. It will start shortly with around 200 officers from the Environmental Health Service, and this number will increase steadily as officials from other parts of the system, with varying sectoral inspection and oversight responsibilities are brought on board, such as WRC inspectors, in line with the Government Roadmap.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has given his commitment that agriculture inspectors working within his Department will work with the Health and Safety Authority on ensuring the implementation of the Protocol in workplaces.