EIGHT out of 10 companies in Ireland expect to spend more on health and safety over the next five years, according to a new survey. It also found that the managements, North and South of the Border, believe that the greatest single benefit they derive from a good health and safety environment is improved relations with employees.

The survey also shows significant differences in the profiles of industrial accidents between Northern Ireland and the Republic. While slips, trips and falls are the largest source of accidents in the Republic at 45 per cent, in Northern Ireland manual handling tasks account for 55 per cent of accidents.

The survey was carried out by Lansdowne Market Research and Ulster Marketing Surveys on behalf of Liberty Risk Services (Northern Ireland) and NIFAST, a Dublin based health and safety consultancy company. The survey was based on a random survey of 500 leading Irish companies, with over half of those surveyed employing more than 250 people.

Some 90 per cent of safety executives feel they are well informed on overall safety legislation. However, there are significant gaps in their knowledge. For instance, only 52 per cent of safety executives believed they were "very familiar" with VDU (Visual Display Units used in computer systems) safety regulations. The figure for Northern Ireland was 85 per cent.

Obtaining 150 certification for safety standards was also proving of benefit to marketing managers in promoting their firms' services.