Crackdown on unsafe building sites promised

THE Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Ms Eithne Fitzgerald, has announced a crackdown on unsafe practices on building sites.

An ICTU officer and member of the Health and Safety Authority has said contractors must be made fear the possibility of imprisonment for flouting the safety laws.

Ms Fitzgerald, speaking at the announcement of the HSA's annual programme for 1997, said public contracts should not be awarded to any company which had not produced a safety statement, as required by law since 1989.

Fifty seven people died in accidents in the workplace last year, 21 people fewer than in 1995, according to a spokesman for the HSA.

The HSA programme shows that construction was the worst sector for workplace fatalities, with 13 deaths, the same number as in 1995. Agriculture accounted for 12 deaths, a drop from 28 in 1995, and fishing accounted for eight deaths, a drop from 19 in 1995.

Inspections of construction sites during 1996 found that 40 per cent of those visited were unsatisfactory.

The authority is in discussion with the Construction Industry Federation on how safety in the sector can be improved.

The ICTU is seeking an urgent meeting with the HSA to discuss safety on sites. The authority "needs to use the law more stringently", said Mr Tom Wall, industrial officer with the ICTU and a member of the board of the HSA.