Forty eight people were killed in the workplace last year, the lowest figure since 1993.
However the numbers injured in the workplace continue to rise, reaching 16,600 last year.
The annual report of the Health and Safety Authority is becoming a regular reminder of the price industry exacts for the current economic boom from the Irish workforce.
As the chairwoman of the HSA, Ms Mary Buckley, put it at the launch of the report yesterday, "Forty-eight people never came home in 1997 because of workplace accidents. Their families are still devastated by those deaths." The HSA also confirmed that the death toll would be higher this year, with 50 fatalities recorded so far.
One major reason for the rise in the numbers injured at work is the rapidly expanding workforce. In 1997 there were 1,338,400 people employed in the industrial sector, compared with 1,297,200 in 1996. This, in turn, is a massive increase on the 1,144,600 employed in this sector in 1992, so that a significant increase in injuries is to be expected.
The crucial yardstick for measuring improvements in safety levels is the rate of injury per 100,000 people at work.
In 1997 the figure was 1,240 per 100,000, a modest improvement on the 1996 rate of 1,272. However both compare poorly with the rate for 1992, which was 961 per 100,000. This jumped in 1,207 in 1994, fell back slightly to 1,162 in 1994 and fell to 1,082 in 1995, before bouncing back over the 1,200 barrier. Construction continues to be a problem sector. Although it employs only 7 per cent of the workforce, it accounted for 31 per cent of fatal accidents (15 out of 48) and 11.4 per cent of non-fatal injuries (1,900 of the 16,600). Agriculture, transport and manufacturing also continue to be the more dangerous sectors.
At the launch of the HSA report yesterday, the Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Mr Tom Kitt, singled out the problems posed by the construction sector. He welcomed the media attention of recent months but added that "column inches and sound bites do not, regrettably, save lives".
He also pointed out that serious accidents "are not confined to the high-profile, large-scale activity in the greater urban centres". Many recent accidents had been on relatively small-scale projects. He would continue meeting SIPTU, the main building workers' union, and the Construction Industry Federation to promote a joint approach to safety issues. Coincidently, the SIPTU construction branch secretary Mr Eric Fleming, who is a member of the HSA, could not attend yesterday's launch because he had to attend a meeting of shop stewards arising out of the collapse of a trench on a housing scheme in Tallaght last week.
Mr Fleming said later that two of his shop stewards had suffered serious injuries in recent weeks after builders had implemented safety measures.
The Labour Party spokesman on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Tommy Broughan, said he would publish a Private Member's Bill shortly aimed at increasing penalties for breaches of health and safety legislation. It would also allow workers injured as a result of breaches in the codes of practice the right to use such breaches as evidence in civil cases against employers.
Other provisions would strengthen the existing legislation on the appointment of worker safety representatives and make inclusion of a health and safety plan a prerequisite for planning permission.