Construction Safety Partnership Advisory Committee (CSPAC) launch Action Plan for 2022 – 2024 

16th February 2022

• The Construction Safety Partnership Action Plan 2022-2024 aims to reduce the level of fatalities, serious injuries and ill health in the construction sector.
• There were 10 construction related fatalities in Ireland in 2021 and many more suffered serious life changing injuries as a result of work-related incidents.
• Over the last 10 years, from 2012 -2021, there were 95 fatalities in the construction sector.
• With the projected growth in the sector for the coming years, it is even more important than ever to ensure that risks arising from construction activities are actively addressed with a renewed focus on new entrants, returning workers, and small and self-employed contractors.
• The new plan focuses on five critical areas and working groups have been set up to develop and implement specific actions in these five areas.

The Construction Safety Partnership, an advisory committee to the Board of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), has today published its latest Action Plan for 2022-2024. The CSPAC is made up of representatives, workers and experts from a variety of construction organisations and is tasked with improving occupational health and safety in the sector.

Over the last 10 years, from 2012 -2021, there were 95 fatalities in the construction sector, which clearly indicates that construction is still one of the high risk sectors.

Welcoming the new Construction Safety Partnership Action Plan 2022-2024, the Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD, stated “While construction work represented approximately 6% of the working population in 2021, it accounted for 26% of all workplace fatalities and thus represents a major challenge for the sector. This new plan from the Construction Safety Partnership that has been brought together by its multi-stakeholder membership will focus on the key areas where health and safety improvements in construction are needed the most.

I urge all employers in the construction sector to engage with the large body of safety and health guidance available and make use of the free HSA online safety training to help reduce the risks of incidents in their workplaces. This Action Plan is ambitious, achievable and crucial to improve safety and minimise work-related incidents.”

The latest CSPAC Action Plan builds upon the achievements of previous committees and sets out the objectives and goals of the CSPAC for the three year period 2022 to 2024.

On launching the latest Action Plan, Michelle Quinn, the CSPAC Co-Chair, said “While substantial improvements in safety and health have been achieved since the original Construction Safety Partnership Advisory Committee (CSPAC) was founded, there is still much more that can be achieved. The CSPAC has identified five key areas to focus on between 2022 and 2024 and has set objectives accordingly in order to help improve safety and health in the sector. Full implementation of these goals will help to reduce the rate of fatal and serious incidents on constructions sites in Ireland.”

The aim of the new Construction Safety Action Plan is to reduce the level of fatalities, serious injuries and ill health in the construction sector. The CSPAC has identified five critical areas for attention:

1. Standardise the approach to the management of health and safety.
2. Improve awareness/compliance of clients on small, high risk projects such as once-off builds and construction on farms.
3. Improve safety consultation, worker engagement and encourage facilitation of safety representatives.
4. Examine existing CSCS courses with a view to identifying new courses required/needed by industry, and consider new ways of delivering Safe Pass.
5. Address occupational health in construction, such as safety concerns around manual handling, exposure to hazardous chemicals and the risk around sun exposure.

Frank Kelly, CSPAC Co-Chair, added that “The CSPAC has made considerable progress in raising awareness of safety in the construction industry. There is also recognition that safety standards across the sector have improved. However, reducing the overall rate of fatal and serious injuries in the sector remains a key objective of our latest action plan. The CSPAC Action Plan has set out key objectives and initiatives that our members will continue to deliver on with our core aim being to improve on the safety and health within the construction sector across both large and small scale enterprises.”

The construction industry is a high-risk industry and remains a matter of continued focus to the Authority. Dr. Sharon McGuinness, CEO of the Health and Safety Authority, recognises the importance of this Action Plan and the collaboration of all involved in its development stating that “The CSPAC member organisations as well as industry and employee stakeholder groups have utilised the knowledge, information and guidance available and worked together to make the sector a safer and healthier place of work. I know there is real commitment to improving safety and health on construction sites by all parties involved in the CSPAC and indeed the wider sector. The Authority remains committed to providing assistance and support to achieve these objectives. Our inspectors and wider teams have, and will continue, to work hard in conjunction with our many stakeholders to ensure that construction sites across the country are safe and healthy environments.”

The Health and Safety Authority has many free tools, courses and supports available, including free health and safety courses on HSALearning.ie and BeSMART.ie, the free online safety management and risk assessment tool.

To read the Construction Safety Action Plan click here

Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD, launches CSPAC Action Plan - video