The following article appeared in the Irish Independent on Thursday 30th August 2012
‘We need a much healthier attitude to safety risks’
Heard the one about local residents being prevented from setting up temporary goalposts for children on a common area in South County Dublin? Or bicycles being banned from a ferry to the Aran Islands? Surely you have heard about locals in Cork not being allowed to continue the traditional practice of helping to dig the graves of loved ones? On the face of it these are completely unconnected matters, but there is a common thread – attempts have been made to prohibit them for reasons of “health and safety”.
The term “health and safety” has become so pervasive that it’s no wonder ordinary people think some of us are out to prevent anyone being exposed to any sort of risk. Life is full of risks and people face different risks every day. However, by taking the approach of some individuals and organisations that we come across it’s a wonder any of them can build up the courage to leave the house in the morning.
Health and safety legislation was introduced in this country to help address the high number of accidents in the workplace which over the years have resulted in hundreds of deaths and many thousands of very serious injuries. It has absolutely nothing to do with the above examples.
Let’s be sensible here. Effective workplace safety and health management is an important aspect of any manager’s activities. It will help prevent accidents and injuries to employees as well as being a real contributor to business success. The proactive management of the safety and health of workers or anyone who might be affected by work activity is not a joke. The task of raising awareness of the real and genuine dangers that workers can be exposed to is is not made any easier when one hears of the overzealous individuals who, in an attempt to make their lives easier, end up making the lives of the professionals working in this area all the more difficult.
As we see it, “health and safety” is bandied about as an excuse for all sorts of unpopular decisions. It can be very convenient to put a difficult decision down to some vague “health and safety” issue rather than outline the real motivation. There may well be valid reasons to make unpopular decisions, e.g. commercial pressures or fears re legal action, but more often than not they have nothing to do with genuine health and safety concerns.
The examples highlighted above might be funny if this was not so serious. Last year 54 people lost their lives in workplace accidents and 230 people have been killed since 2008. So far this year 29 people have been killed in work related accidents. Apart from these very tragic deaths thousands of people have been injured, many very seriously. On top of this terrible human toll it’s been estimated that workplace accidents are costing the state up to €3.5 billion annually. That’s a substantial sum of money during any economic period but in the current environment it’s completely unsustainable. Small businesses in particular know the financial impact if an employee suffers a bad workplace accident – compensation payments, increased insurance premiums, disrupted production and damage to business reputation all add up and can have a drastic effect on the bottom line.
The position of the Health and Safety Authority is clear - health and safety is not a reason to not do something. If there are valid risks associated with a workplace activity these risks should be assessed and managed so that the activity can be carried out in a safe way. Very rarely is the solution to simply not do it.
We live in an era where many people have concerns over the development of an overly protective “nanny state” culture. We understand these concerns and we certainly have no desire to add to them. Our view is that common sense should prevail. Proper health and safety management has nothing to do with trying to prevent every single possible risk from people’s lives. The next time you’re told you can’t do something because of “health and safety” challenge it. It’s about time this all pervasive excuse was treated with the derision it deserves.
Instead of “health and safety” continuing to be the usual punch line to the joke of the day maybe soon we’ll be hearing the one about the local small shop or factory that saved thousands of Euros by sensibly managing its workplace safety and health. There’s nothing funny about that for the struggling small business owner.
Martin O’Halloran
Chief Executive
Health and Safety Authority
