Mandatory drug-testing for employees in "safety critical" jobs will be introduced under new workplace health and safety legislation.
Penalties of up to €3 million and two years in jail, as well as on-the-spot fines for employers and workers, are also included in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005.
Minister of State for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen yesterday signed an order to commence the Act, which comes into effect on September 1st.
Drug-testing will not be introduced until a later date, however, following consultations between the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and the social partners and other bodies.
Mr Killeen said the Act imposed a requirement on employees to submit to testing for intoxicants under a doctor's supervision, if reasonably required to do so by an employer.
He said the provision would apply in certain sectors only and where safety required. "It is important to allay fears that testing will be a requirement across all employments. There is no such intention."
Asked at a press conference in Dublin whether airline pilots would be among those required to submit to drug-testing, Mr Killeen said "they might well be", but was not prepared to speculate on which sectors would be included or excluded. He described the Act as a "serious wake-up call" to employers who don't do enough to prevent accidents at their places of employment.
After a decline in workplace fatalities last year to 50, from 70 in 2003, this year had seen a worrying reversal of the trend, with 34 deaths to date, he said.
As well as increasing penalties for breaches of health and safety law, the Act provides for company managers and directors to be held liable if found to have contributed to an offence. On-the-spot fines of up to €1,000 will apply to employers and workers.
