Written answers

Wednesday, 19 January 2022

Department of Education and Skills

Health and Safety

Photo of Michael LowryMichael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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1139. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider special contingency measures to allow expired Safe Pass registration cards, cards that had expired after 31 December 2021, to remain valid for an additional six months in order that the safety awareness registration card shall be regarded as valid until 30 June 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2308/22]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013,  craft and general construction workers, persons undertaking on-site security work and persons or classes of persons as may be prescribed by the relevant Minister are required to hold a safety awareness registration card (Safe Pass card). 

In March 2020 the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation amended these regulations to extend the expiry dates of valid Safe Pass cards due to expire after the 1st March 2020 for the duration of the Covid-19 emergency period.  New entrants to the above activities are required to undertake safety awareness training and pass the relevant assessment to obtain a Safe Pass card.

Safe Pass training and assessment delivery has mirrored construction sector activity during the COVID-19 period and has now fully recommenced.  Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the running of face to face programmes, which are delivered by SOLAS Approved Training Organisations and tutors, is subject to adherence with the SOLAS Standard Operational Pandemic Containment Guidelines.

These Guidelines include a reduction in the maximum numbers of learners who may physically attend a course. SOLAS is not experiencing any backlog regarding Safe Pass training provision. From April through to December 2021 aligned with the reopening of Construction, SOLAS issued 83,000 safe pass cards in total. There is no operational requirement for SOLAS to adopt contingency measures.

SOLAS is continuing to work on the development of an alternative training and assessment delivery model which is equitable with existing Safe Pass course delivery in being accessible to all eligible workers, providing real time course participant supports and ensuring assessment integrity.

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