Fraudulent accreditation letters, which allow building workers to begin work on construction sites without having completed a mandatory safety course, are being sold on the black market for €50 each, The Irish Times has learned.
The safety trainer named on the fraudulent letters was registered with Fás but was removed from the register following an investigation. The letters, however, continue to be accepted on building sites.
Six other trainers have also been suspended from the register for activities including running short or inadequate courses and issuing certificates without supplying or completing adequate training.
Under current legislation, anyone working on a construction site, including trades-people, security guards and delivery people, must take part in a one-day safety course run through Fás and must carry a Fás Safe Pass card.
The course teaches basic on-site safety procedures and is given by over 300 trainers countrywide, who are registered with Fás.
When the course is completed, the participant qualifies for a Safe Pass card. However, due to delays of up to six weeks in processing applications for the card, trainers frequently issue letters of accreditation, which are accepted on building sites around the state.
These letters are currently available for sale in Dublin city centre for €50.
The Fás Safe Pass became mandatory in 2002 and must be renewed every four years. To date 450,000 people have taken the course.
A spokesman for Fás said that it was difficult to catch people who were fraudulently selling accreditation.
"The Safe Pass card has the same status as a driving licence, it is a legal document and is recognised as such," he said.
"We take a firm line on this activity but we do need the co-operation of workers to pursue the cases."
He said that anyone using the fraudulent letter to gain access to a building site would be compromised if he were involved in an accident and added that the number of fatalities on building sites per 100,000 workers had gone down by half over the life cycle of the training programme.
Denis Farrell, of the Building and Allied Trade Union, said that any employer accepting fraudulent accreditation would be negligent.
"The Safe Pass unit in Fás is very small and this leads to administrative delays," he said. "Foreign workers often come here in a rush and have to wait for a card for weeks. I'm not surprised that this is happening," Mr Farrell said.
He said that when the course began it was envisaged that employers would pay for their staff to take it, but now many workers are told "no Safe Pass, no start".
