Accidents caused by worker negligence can occur in even the best-regulated building companies. But the mortality rate in the Irish construction industry is now so high that the only explanation can be a failure of the companies involved, and particular subcontractors, to apply the statutory safety regulations. A total of 54 people have died on building sites since 1995. And as the industry continues to enjoy boom conditions, the number of fatalities is increasing. By August of this year, 14 people had died - more than the total for all of 1997 - and that figure seems certain to increase.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, who has overall responsibility for the building industry, is deeply unhappy with the situation. He told this newspaper that he had been endeavouring to get the Construction Industry Federation to ensure that their member-firms took site safety seriously. And he expressed concern that "the message does not seem to be getting through to some builders."
Blaming the industry for the situation is an easy option. But the Minister and his predecessors in that Department must also shoulder some of the blame. The Health and Safety Authority is charged with the responsibility of monitoring and enforcing safety standards in the workplace in Ireland. It is chronically short of staff and starved of funding. The situation is so bad that a senior employee of the HSA complained publicly that the penny-pinching attitude of the Department of Finance was making it extremely difficult for the authority to do its work.
The number of people employed, along with the sites to be inspected in the construction sector, had nearly doubled since 1992, but there had been no appreciable increase in the number of inspectors. The latest forecast is that the number of workers in the construction sector will rise by a further 10,000 in the coming year. All of these factors require early and effective action from the Government; from the CIF and from the trade unions involved.
Last month the largest union in the State, SIPTU, proposed the introduction of a levy of 0.3 per cent on all building projects to create a fund for policing safety regulations. Understandably, members of the CIF are not enamoured of such a levy. But something must be done. And if the Department of Finance does not fund an adequate safety inspectorate, then the industry must be required to contribute.
The CIF has argued that it has conducted safety courses for its members and taken its responsibilities seriously. And it blames small companies, subcontractors and poor designers for much of what is wrong. But responsibility cannot be shifted so easily. Recent court cases taken by the HSA have demonstrated an appalling lack of concern for safety measures on some building sites in Dublin.
In moving to address this unacceptable situation, the Minister for the Environment and the Government must adopt a tough approach. Too many people are dying because safety corners are being cut in pursuit of speedier completion and profits. Penalties at District Court level do not reflect the seriousness of the offences. Nobody has been sent to jail for ignoring safety laws. The courts, the Government, the CIF, the trade unions and the workers all have a part to play in making the industry a safer place.