Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Safety Provisions (Building) Convention, 1937 (No. 62) - Ireland (Ratification: 1972)

Legislation. The Committee welcomes the adoption of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005; the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations, 2006 (S.I. No. 504 of 2006), and its amendments (S.I. No. 130 of 2008), (S.I. No. 423 of 2008) and (S.I. No. 523 of 2010); and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations, 2007 (S.I. No. 299 of 2007), which appear to give effect to the majority of the Articles of the Convention. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on any relevant legislative measures adopted in application of the Convention.

Article 13(1) of the Convention. Crane driver or hoisting appliance operator shall be properly qualified. The Committee notes that the Government’s report is silent on this matter. The Committee asks the Government to indicate how effect is given to this provision of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. Article 6. Statistics. Application in practice. The Committee welcomes the detailed statistical information provided by the Government in relation to the construction industry and, in particular, notes that the main types of fatal accidents are falls from a height, site vehicles, falling or collapsing material and contact with overhead electricity lines. The Government also indicates that workers in the construction sector suffer from one of the highest non-fatal injury rates of any sector, with the most common causes being manual handling, slips, trips and falls on the level, falling or collapsing material and falls from a height. The Committee notes that the total number of fatalities recorded in the construction sector during 2006–10 was 61, and that the number of non-fatal accidents has significantly reduced since 2006, although this has in part been influenced by a drop in the last three years in the number employed in the sector. The Government further indicates that poor management of the design or construction process is a prime cause of most of the deaths, injuries and illnesses in the construction industry. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to target the main causes of fatal and non-fatal accidents in the construction industry, and to continue to provide statistical information on the practical application of the Convention.