HSA: Businesses that cannot put safety measures in place should not reopen
The chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority (HAS), Dr Sharon McGuinness has said that it is important that employers and employees communicate to ensure a safe return to work when Phase One of the lifting of Covid restrictions commences next week.
The road map announced by the government in the Return to Work Safety Protocol is the way forward she told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
Dr McGuinness acknowledged that the return to work is going to be challenging especially in sectors such as the construction industry.
She was responding to an earlier comment on Morning Ireland by assistant professor of architecture Orla Hegarty who called for a more sophisticated plan for the return to work on construction sites.
A more careful approach is required for this sector she said, adding that she has written to the Dáil’s new Covid committee to express her concerns.
Controls on sites, particularly for indoor works, need to be stricter given the level of risk to workers, added Ms Hegarty.
Dr McGuinness said that the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) had signed up to the government’s return to work protocol and she warned that if measures are not implemented and complied with then there are actions that can be taken by the HAS with the ultimate sanction being the closure of a site if there is evidence of serious breaches.
It really is in the interest employers and business owners to ensure there is a safe return to work, she said.
If a business or a construction site cannot put safety measures in place then it should not open, she added.
