An inspection blitz carried out in the wake of the Navan bus crash has uncovered serious safety flaws at local authority roadworks across the entire country.
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) swooped on more than 100 roadworks sites and found that across the board, there was a failure to adhere to even the most basic safety requirements.
Inspectors have privately described the absence of adequate warning signs, hazard lights, project safety supervisors and appropriate speed limits as a "recipe for disaster".
The HSA confirmed it had completed its report on the last September's inspection blitz, and had sent a copy to every county manager.
"The Authority has serious concerns with the level of compliance with aspects of the operations of local authorities, specifically with regard to the construction and maintenance of roadworks," said a spokesman.
The inspections were ordered in the wake of two fatal accidents at sites where local authority roadworks were ongoing: the Navan bus crash and the death of 22-year-old Mayo student Aisling Gallagher.
The Navan bus crash, which caused the deaths of five teenage schoolgirls last May, occurred on a stretch of road which was being re-surfaced by contractors on behalf of Meath County Council.
After serious concerns were raised about the safety of the road surface and the adequacy of the warning signs, the HSA began its own investigation and a file has now been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Ms Gallagher died in December 2004 after her car skidded on a temporary road surface in Mulranny and collided with an oncoming lorry.
Her family claimed there had been no adequate warning signs or temporary speed limits on the road. Mayo County Council denied this but later put in additional electronic warning signboards at the site as an extra safety measure.
Although the National Roads Authority is responsible for most of the major motorway projects under construction, local authorities are still in charge of a vast number of roadworks projects on town bypasses, relief roads, county roads and potholed rural roads.
The inspection report outlines how many roadworks projects did not adequately provide for the safety of council workers or passing motorists. Some did not even have a clearly identified project safety supervisor, which is considered the most basic of all safety procedures.
The HSA is planning to carry out follow-up inspections to address the compliance of each local authority. Although it has resolved to work in partnership with city and county councils, it has the power to take court prosecutions against those who do not comply or shut their roadworks sites down.
The HSA spokesman said it was hugely important that local authorities used the correct safety procedures on roadworks sites.
"When you think of the amount of traffic on the roads, the number of vehicles, motorists and pedestrians who travel around roadworks in any given day, in any part of the country, it's huge," he said.
The county managers of all local authorities are expected to deliver their response to the HSA report in the coming weeks.
PA