Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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164. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of new HSA inspectors hired since June 2020 and January 2021, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14817/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Since the 1^stof January 2021, the Health and Safety Authority  (HSA) has hired one Grade II Inspector and a further two Grade III Inspectors will take up employment in early April. 

The HSA is actively recruiting Grade III inspectors at present and its current campaign had a closing date for receipt of applications of Friday, 19th of March last.  It is anticipated that successful candidates from this competition will take up employment from May 2021 onwards. 

As part of Budget 2021, an additional allocation of €4.2m was awarded to the HSA for 2021 to cover additional staffing resources in respect of COVID-19 and Brexit related activities.

The Health and Safety Authority is the lead agency in relation to the assessment of compliance with the Work Safely Protocol and, in that regard, its inspection resources have been supplemented during the period in question by inspectorates from other State Agencies/Government Departments, who are carrying out COVID-19 compliance checks as part of their normal duties.

During the period from June to the 31^stof December 2020 the HSA has not hired additional staff at inspector grade. However, during this time, 12 additional posts were filled in its Workplace Contract Unit to assist the HSA in managing the increased number of calls from employers and employees around compliance with the Work Safely Protocol. In addition, staff from my Department were also seconded to the HSA to support the work of the Workplace Contact Unit.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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165. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of Covid-19-related compliance checks undertaken by the HSA since June 2020 and January 2021, respectively; the number of inspections undertaken at sites of known outbreaks since these dates; the number of enforcement actions taken and completed since these dates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14818/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Between 1^stJune 2020 and the 31^stDecember 2020, the HSA carried out a total 5,979 workplace inspections of which 4,455 involved a compliance assessment of measures taken relating to the Work Safely Protocol.

These inspections found:

- 93%of workplaces had COVID-19 measures in place;

- 79% of workplaces had COVID-19 Response plans in place; and

- 73%of workplaces had a Lead Worker Representative appointed.

Between 1^stJanuary 2021 and 12^thMarch 2021, the HSA carried 1,621 workplace inspections of which 1,581 included an assessment of compliance with the preventative measures of the Work Safely Protocol.

This cohort of inspections found:

- 95%of workplaces had COVID-19 measures in place;

- 82% of workplaces had COVID-19 Response plans in place; and

- 78%of workplaces had a Lead Worker Representative appointed.

Under the Public Health Act (Infectious Diseases) Regulations, all infectious diseases are required to be reported to the Public Health Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting system (CIDR), which is managed by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre of the HSE, COVID-19 was included under the Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No.53 of 2020) on the 28 February 2020.

The management of outbreaks of COVID-19 is a matter of Public Health and comes under the relevant HSE Departments of Public Health and specifically the Medical Officer of Health. The role of the Medical Officer of Health includes convening an outbreak control team (OCT), which should comprise the necessary expertise to manage/control the outbreak.

The HSA has no statutory role in relation to outbreak management. However, the HSA has been asked to participate in Outbreak Control Teams by local Medical Officers of Health, when the HSA’s expertise of a workplace is deemed necessary. The HSA assist the public health experts in understanding the work processes that take place across the various sectors and work settings.

The HSA has participated in a total of 51 public health led local outbreak control teams in response to COVID-19 outbreaks across several business sectors. 

It is not HSA policy to record, as part of their inspection, details on whether a COVID-19 outbreak is or has taken place in the workplace that they visit. The HPSC can provide a full list of workplaces where cases and outbreaks of COVID-19 have happened, and a breakdown of sectors and workplaces should therefore be made to them.

As part of its enforcement powers the HSA can issue Improvement Notices and Prohibition Notices. Improvement Notices are legal directives requiring specific improvement to be made within a required timeframe while Prohibition Notices are a legal instruction directing that specified work activity be immediately stopped because of a high level of danger or the possibility of serious personal injury. No Improvement or Prohibition Notices issued due to failure to comply with the provisions of the Work Safely Protocol in the periods in question. 

For the period 1st June to the 31^stDecember 2020, 45% of the Work Safely Protocol inspections resulted in a report of inspection, i.e. a written direction was provided to the employer educating and advising where further efforts needed to be made, e.g. to formally document a COVID-19 response plan or improve physical distancing and hand hygiene practices. From 1st January to the 12^thMarch 2021, 38% of the inspections assessing compliance with the Work Safely Protocol resulted in a report of inspection. 

Based on the inspections it has carried out the HSA has found that the level of adherence with the Work Safely Protocols across all sectors, been very high. This should be looked upon as a positive indication that the vast majority of employers and employees throughout Ireland and in the many different sectors of employment are taking a responsible and proactive approach to meeting the requirements of the Work Safely Protocol.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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166. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of Covid-19 complaints received by the HSA since June 2020 and January 2021, respectively; the percentage of these complaints that have been processed; the number of inspections and enforcement orders that were taken, respectively, as a result of these complaints; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14819/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Workplace Contact Unit (WCU) is the Health and Safety Authority’s primary contact point for employers, employees, and members of the public to make complaints and seek information or guidance in relation to matters under its remit.

Between 1^stJune and 31^stDecember 2020, the WCU received 2,078 COVID-19 related complaints;

- 2,049 or 98.5% have been brought a conclusion and have been closed off following direct intervention by either the WCU or the HSA’s inspectorate.

- 30 or 1.5% remain open,

- 11 are active within the WCU,

- 19 have been assigned to the HSA’s inspectorate for further intervention.

Between 1^stJanuary and 12^thMarch 2021, the WCU received 802 COVOID-19 related complaints;

- 701 or 87.5% have been brought a conclusion and have been closed off following direct intervention by either the WCU or the HSA’s inspectorate.

- 101 or 12.5% remain open,

- 89 are open for a period greater than five days,

- 57 of which remain active with the WCU,

- 32 have been assigned to the HSA’s inspectorate for further intervention.

The HSA undertakes an annual programme of approximately 10,000 inspections/investigations. These inspections/investigations are selected on the basis of several factors including fatalities, serious incidents, reported injuries and complaints, or a blend of these factors. While inspections may be undertaken on a reactive basis, inspections are also carried out on a proactive basis. Investigations are a higher level of enforcement activity and are generally undertaken for more serious matters involving very serious injury or loss of life.

As many complaints received in relation to COVID-19 may have been multifaceted and overlapped with other workplace health and safety matters, it has not been possible for the HSA to provide aggregate data specifically as regards COVID-19 inspections arising from individual complaints received.  However, the following summary data for the periods requested:

- From 1^stJune to 31^stDecember 2020, 45% of inspections addressing the Work Safely Protocol resulted in a report of inspection on matters such as the need to formally document a COVID-19 response plan or improve physical distancing and hand hygiene practices. 

- Between 1^stJanuary and 12^thMarch 2021, 38% of inspections addressing the Work Safely Protocol resulted in a report of inspection.

The HSA has found that the level of adherence with the Work Safely Protocol across all sectors, been very high and considers this to be a positive indication that the vast majority of employers and employees nationwide and sector wide are taking a responsible and proactive approach to meeting the requirements of the Protocol.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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167. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the actions he has taken to prevent employers obliging employees to attend the workplace in circumstances in which remote working is a possibility in spite of current Covid-19 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14820/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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We are currently at Level 5 of the Government’s Plan for Living with Covid-19. The Plan clearly sets out that within this restriction level people should work from home unless it is absolutely necessary to attend in person for the delivery of an essential service as listed on www.gov.ie.

At the beginning of the year, I issued a statement underlining the seriousness of the issue and reminding employers to encourage and accommodate their employees to stay at home unless they are essential workers.

All employees should work from home where possible unless essential for them to attend their place of work, due to it being an essential health, social care or other essential service which cannot be done from home. 

The responsibility for determining what work can be done remotely remains with the employer, but employers and workers should seek to resolve any matters relating to remote working at a local level through mutual dialogue and engagement. Where this is not possible and an employee is dissatisfied, a compliant may be made to the State's workplace relations services. Advice can be obtained from the Information & Customer Service of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) at Lo-call: 1890 80 80 90 or 059 9178990 or from its website www.wrc.ie.

It must be stressed, that at this particular critical juncture, given the seriousness of the overall situation with COVID-19 cases across the Community and the resulting pressure on our hospital systems, it is vital that employers make provision for employees to work from home unless they are delivering an essential service as listed on www.gov.ie and cannot work for home.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has produced a detailed guidance for both employers and employees in relation to home-working on a temporary basis during COVID-19 restrictions. This guidance will help employers to understand the requirements, and steps to take, when setting up working-from-home arrangements for employees from a health and safety perspective. The guidance is available on-line at www.hsa.ie.

While the HSA has no role in determining which employees can work from home or not, it carries out, along with a number of other State Agencies, compliance inspections with the precautionary measures of the Work Safely Protocol. Where non-compliance with the Protocol is discovered the HSA can use various enforcement mechanisms at its disposal to ensure that the necessary measures are put in place.

Any worker with concerns about health and safety standards at their place of work can contact the Health and Safety Authority’s Workplace Contact Unit (WCU) for detailed advice including advice on compliance with the Work Safely Protocol. The WCU can be contacted by phone at Lo-call 1890289389 (landline) or (01) 6147000 or by email at wcu@hsa.ie.

I would also like to highlight the fact that there is a wide range of Government supports available to help businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Full details on financial supports, training and guidance are available on my Department’s website www.enterprise.gov.ie.