Sir, - It is somewhat ironic that Kevin Myers's article on injury compensation (August 14th) should be published in the same week in which the Irish Insurance Federation revealed that a rise in premiums for public and employer liability insurance is expected, due to increased underwriting costs in the area of liability insurance (Sunday Business Post, August 18th). Brian Spellman in his letter (August 16th) rightly points to employers' attitude as a major factor in this equation.
The HSA states that most workplace accidents are avoidable. Despite this, accident levels are not falling. This is partly due to the lack of commitment on the part of Irish employers to take safety seriously. Almost all advertisements for safety officers, carried in Business This Week during the past year (and there have not been that many), have specified that candidates should be graduates in science or engineering. Employers apparently hope to kill two birds with one stone, and this approach is not working.
By comparison, in the UK safety officers are required to hold the NEBOSH Diploma in Safety at Work. This diploma has a direct equivalent in Ireland, awarded by UCD, Limerick and several other universities. Graduates, however, who would have no problem finding work in England, are often excluded from these jobs at home. Irish employers are not interested, apparently, in employing a "safety officer" or "safety adviser" on his/her own.
Kevin Myers may have a point about a "compensation culture", but trying to shift the blame on to employees is wrong. If the opportunities were not present, then no claim can be successful in court. When employers decide that it's time to take their safety responsibilities seriously and reduce the occasion for accidents at their workplaces, that's when the "compensation culture" will disappear. - Yours, etc.,
Kilmacoo,
Athlone,
Co Westmeath.