Health and Safety - An Irish Update
Locations
The first six months of 2023 has seen a significant level of activity in the health and safety space in Ireland.
A new Chief Executive Officer has been appointed to the Health & Safety Authority, various sector specific initiatives have been launched and the Courts have been active in in terms of enforcement. We have set out below a brief overview of the key activities of the Health and Safety Authority in Ireland in the last six months.
Campaigns
The Health and Safety Authority in Ireland has launched several sector specific initiatives including:
- Agriculture – Campaigns launched focussing on livestock handling and the use of electricity on farms;
- Construction – Campaigns launched on working at height and exposure to the sun.
There have been several significant fines handed down in the Circuit Court. Some of the major sentences handed include:
- Ove Arup and Partners Ireland Ltd being fined €750,000 for breached of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 leading to a fatality when an individual fell from height;
- Swissport Ireland Limited being fined €250,000 due to a fatality when an individual fell from height whilst carrying out a cargo offloading operation;
- A construction worker being given a nine month suspended jail sentence for the misuse of a work vehicle when he allowed two passengers on his dumper which was not designed to carry passengers leading to one of the passengers to fall causing life changing injuries;
This brief overview shows that the Health and Safety Authority in Ireland are active in terms of both advocacy and enforcement. At Fieldfisher, we have a multijurisdictional team to provide coverage to companies in the UK and Ireland. Our services cover both advisory work to assist with compliance with health and safety legislation and helping to prevent accidents and crisis management should an incident occur.
Andrew Sanderson is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution team in Fieldfisher's London office. He defends both individuals as well as companies who are subject to investigation and prosecution by the Health & Safety Executive. He is a Member of the Health and Safety Lawyers Association and lectures on issues such as corporate manslaughter and corporate/directors’ responsibility.
Neil Cahill is a Senior Associate in the Dispute Resolution team in Fieldfisher's Dublin office. He has acted for insurers and large corporates in the defence of Health and Safety prosecutions. Neil is admitted to roll of solicitors in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.