Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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128. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on the average time for an official complaint to the Health and Safety Authority to be processed and acted upon. [59964/21]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The complaints mechanism operated by the agencies under the aegis of my Department, such as the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), is a day-to-day operational matter for the agency concerned. I have, however, asked the HSA to provide an outline of how their complaint mechanism operates.

The HSA operates under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 and associated regulations. The Workplace Contact Unit (WCU) is a helpdesk resource for employers, employees and members of the public provided by the HSA. The WCU is the primary point of contact for workers and employers for a range of topics including reporting workplace fatalities and serious incidents, making complaints relating to workplaces, and obtaining health and safety information.

Complaints received by the WCU can relate to workplace safety, health and welfare, chemicals or market surveillance. Employees making a complaint to the HSA are advised to raise the issue within their workplace first in order to give the employer an opportunity to address the matter prior to getting the HSA involved.

All complaints received by the HSA are considered important and treated seriously. Complaints received are initially reviewed to assess the most appropriate course of action, proportionate to the nature of the complaint. Complaints are prioritised on a risk basis, and as part of the response, the HSA may contact the employer/duty holder responsible for the workplace. As a first line of intervention, the WCU may correspond with the relevant employer/duty holder by telephone or written communication. Many complaints do not require further intervention beyond that provided by the WCU and do not lead to an inspection.

As each complaints are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and in a manner which is proportionate to the nature of the complaint, it is not appropriate to provide average timelines. It might, however, be helpful to note that in the period from 01 January 2021 to 26 November 2021, the HSA received 4,782 complaints, of which 94% (4,782) have been closed out in full.