Health and Safety Authority annual report 1994
| dc.contributor.author | Health and Safety Authority (HSA) | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2013-01-11T16:35:52Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2013-01-11T16:35:52Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 1994 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10147/265013 | |
| dc.description | I am pleased to submit to you the Annual Report of the Health and Safety Authority for 1994, in accordance with Section 26 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989. Six years ago, the national approach to health and safety at work was a reactive one. Accidents happened, they were investigated and blame apportioned where necessary. The 1989 Act brought a fundamental change, to a system based on preventive measures in every workplace, with the tripartite Health and Safety Authority set up to oversee and administer the laws. There is an essential prerequisite to the establishment of an effective prevention-based system. It requires a change in approach on the part of everyone at work: no longer must hazards and dangers in the workplace be seen simply as part of the job, to be tolerated or ignored until something should happen. The Authority has adopted a three-fronted drive to bring this change about, combining awareness-raising with vigilance and enforcement. Both socially and economically, the drain of resources that poor standards of work place health and safety represent is unacceptable. For example, every year, the entire community foots a bill of some £300 million for health service provision, in occupational injuries benifit and claims against employers' liability insurance. We can no longer tolerate this constant drain which damages the country's competitiveness, especially when it is clear that two-thirds of all workplace accidents could have been prevented. In 1994, the Authority undertook 10,182 workplace visits, comprising 9,856 formal inspections and 326 advisory and other visits. Changing approaches is a slow process. One measure of how effective the Authority's strategy has been can be found in workplace accident statistics. It is heartening that the level of workplace fatalities during 1994 declined to a total of 50 - a reduction of 21 % on 1993. The number of accidents reported to the Authority rose by 25%, from 4,020 to 5,022. This does not, however, reflect a worsening situation, but an increase in the number of accidents that are being reported following the passage of the 1993 General Application Regulations and reflects improved compliance. | en_GB |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.subject | OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY | en_GB |
| dc.subject | SAFETY | en_GB |
| dc.title | Health and Safety Authority annual report 1994 | en_GB |
| dc.type | Report | en |
| refterms.dateFOA | 2018-08-23T19:21:54Z |
