There has been a fall in the number of fatal industrial accidents in Ireland. According to the report presented in January 2010 by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), in 2009 there were 43 fatal accidents in the workplace, the lowest number since studies began in 1991, when there were 73 deaths. In relation to the number of workers, the percentage of fatal accidents in these years has fallen from 6.31% to 2.23%.
Agriculture and building – the most dangerous sectors
Like in other European countries, agriculture is one of the working sectors most at risk: in 2009 alone there were 11 deaths in this sector, over 25% of the total. This did however mark a fall compared with the previous year, when 21 deaths were recorded.
The building industry had the second highest incidence of fatalities in 2009, with 10 work-related deaths.
According to the specialist journal Health and Safety Review one of the factors influencing this result is the fall in employment levels and in productive activities. The economic recession is not however the only factor behind this fall, according to the journal. Compared with a fall in GDP of 7.25% in 2009 compared with the previous year, there was a 24% fall in work-related deaths over the same period.
The Minister of State at the department of enterprise, trade and employment, Dara Calleary, said he was satisfied with this positive trend, even though now was not the time to be complacent. Credit for these results should go in the main to the successful collaboration between the Authority, enterprises and workers’ representatives.
Source: European Working Conditions Observatory (EWCO)
