Workplace deaths drop to lowest on record during pandemic restrictions

The number of deaths through injuries at work has fallen to its lowest level on record, latest figures from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) show.

While serious non-fatal workplace injuries increased last year as pandemic lockdowns were eased, the number remains lower than pre-Covid levels.

The HSE annual review of workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities confirms 38 workplace deaths last year, all but one of them men. The woman victim was not working at the place where she was fatally injured.

Reflecting traditional trends, more than half the fatalities were in agriculture, forestry and fishing (29 per cent) and construction (26 per cent).

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Despite being the lowest number of fatal incidents since the foundation of the HSA more than 30 years ago, authority chief executive Sharon McGuinness said each one was “entirely preventable”.

“These 38 people ... were fathers, sons, uncles, brothers, friends,” she said. “Each died as a result of an entirely preventable incident. This is the lowest number of fatal incidents recorded in any year since the foundation of the authority in 1989, and while this may sound like a positive development it cannot be repeated too often that one death is one too many.”

Older workers – those aged 65 and over – accounted for almost one in four of all fatalities, the highest number of victims by age. The proportion of workplace deaths in this age group has risen more than threefold over the past three decades, from 7 per cent in 1990 to 24 per cent last year.

The review also shows an increase in non-fatal injuries last year to 8,279, up 8 per cent on the previous year. However, the figure remains 12 per cent lower than 2019. “This suggests that imposed business closures and changes in behaviour due to the Covid 19 pandemic may have continued to affect work-related health and safety in 2021,” the review states.

Non-fatal injuries in hospitality continued to decline and it is “likely that this is largely due to continued Covid 19-related restrictions in 2021, which particularly affected this sector”.

Back injuries (21 per cent) make up the highest proportion of incidents in non-fatal cases.

“It goes without saying that both 2020 and 2021 are outliers in our recent history,” said Ms McGuinness. “The stop-start nature of restrictions and lockdowns, the rise of remote working and online shopping, and unfortunately an unprecedented number of business closures makes year-on-year comparisons difficult. Despite this upheaval (and regular suspension) of the normal course of work and life, the numbers of non-fatal incidents have remained high.”