Safety regulations introduced nearly a decade ago have had no impact on the type of accidents occurring at building sites, a new study has found. Chris Dooley, Industry and Employment Correspondent, reports.
The study, carried out for the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), says there are continuing failures by the construction industry to meet its safety obligations.
Proposed new regulations, aimed at addressing deficiencies, have been approved by the HSA but are being resisted by professional bodies. They have lobbied the Minister of State responsible, Mr Frank Fahey, asking him not to implement them. The urgent need for improvement is underlined by the fact that six construction workers have been killed on sites already this year, almost half of last year's total of 13.
The proposed regulations seek to place more responsibility for safety on those planning and designing construction projects. Designers' lack of knowledge of health and safety regulations was "alarming", the HSA said.
In a study for the authority, Ms Marie Dalton of the University of Manchester said the 1995 safety regulations had had little impact on either the profile of victims or the type of accidents occurring.Nearly half of fatalities continued to be the result of falls from heights, as was the case before the 1995 regulations were put in place.
The study found that HSA inspectors tend to underestimate the extent to which designers and others involved prior to construction are responsible for accidents. And although detailed duties of care are placed on those directly involved in construction, only minimum obligations, as required by EU law, are placed on designers.
Prosecutions by the HSA also tend to focus on contractors rather than those involved in the pre-construction phase. "The lack of enforcement action taken against designers is striking."
Ms Dalton was also the author of a previous HSA study which found that nearly half of all fatal accidents occurred at sites where a project supervisor for design had not been appointed, as required by law.
The proposed new regulations would require clients - those behind projects - to appoint in writing a project supervisor for the design process. Appointments can be made verbally at present. A range of new responsibilities would also be placed on both the clients and supervisors.
For example, design supervisors would be responsible for the safety of temporary constructions on sites, such as scaffolding.
This is one of the measures opposed by professional bodies including the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland, the Institution of Engineers of Ireland and the Society of Chartered Surveyors. Representatives of the four met the Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Mr Frank Fahey, a fortnight ago to outline their concerns.
Mr Gerry O'Sullivan of the Society of Chartered Surveyors said designers did not normally take responsibility for temporary structures erected during construction. Their job was to tell contractors what to build, but it was the contractor who took responsibility for how to build it.
The proposed regulations exposed designers to such potential liabilities that many would choose not to take on construction projects, he said. Those who did would face difficulty getting insurance.
Designers understood that there were problems which the HSA was attempting to address, but they were concerned that the proposed regulations would not work. The professional bodies would be meeting the HSA this week and he was hopeful the issues could be resolved.