One fifth of Health and Safety inspections were on farms in 2017

Almost 10,000 inspections of business premises were carried out by the Health and safety Authority in 2017 – some 4,000 on construction sites and a further 2,000 on farms.

According to the Authority’s annual report, fines totalling more than €2.6 million were imposed on organisations which breached regulations in 2017. In addition, inspectors issued 512 improvement notices and 547 prohibition notices requiring immediate attention.

The authority revealed in January there had been 47 work-related deaths in 2017, 24 of them in the agriculture sector. The authority has said a complete change in culture was needed on farms, as had happened in recent years in the construction industry, to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries.

Minister of State for Employment Pat Breen said the best way to prevent accidents was to encourage employers to take their responsibilities seriously and to assist workers in identifying hazards.

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“Whether on a farm, in a factory or on a fishing boat it is the workers and those supervising the work that are best positioned to make the right decisions in relation to safety, health and welfare,” he said.

During 2017 the free online safety tool for small businesses, BeSMART.ie, added 8,500 new users and more than 30 industry-specific guidance documents were published.

Almost 25,000 students at post-primary and further education participated in the authority’s “choose safety” programme and 17,750 courses were taken on the authority’s eLearning portal.

In anticipation of the UK exit from the EU in 2019, advice was provided to companies on the implications for chemicals supply chains.

Dr Sharon McGuinness, chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority said the authority aimed to “ foster a culture of prevention, we do this by encouraging employers and employees to work together, to take ownership of safety and health in their workplaces and achieve positive results.”