329 / 482
GAZETTE.
SEPTEMBER 1989
and 36. Under Section 35
inspectors are given the power to
serve an
improvement direction
on
a person in control of premises
where he is of the opinion that
activities involve or are likely to
involve risk to safety and health of
any person. The direction requires
the person in control to submit an
improvement plan to the inspector
w i t h in a specified time. The
inspector may direct that the plan
be revised if he is not satisfied with
the remedial action proposed.
A closely related power is
provided for in Secion 36 which
allows the inspector to issue an
improvement notice
where he is of
the opinion that a person is con-
travening or has contravened any of
the statutory provisions. The notice
directs the person to remedy the
contravention in question. A right
of appeal to the District Court is
provided for.
These provisions of the Act are
new to Irish law. They are further
supported by Section 37 of the Act
which allows the inspector to serve
prohibition notices where he is of
the opinion that activities involve or
are likely to involve a risk of serious
personal injury to persons at any
place of work. Similar provisions
existed under Section 11 of the
1980 Act but an important differ-
ence lies in the fact that under that
Act only the Minister for Labour
had the power to issue the notice.
That restriction may account for
the fact that the power was very
rarely if ever used.
7
The prohibition
notice prohibits the carrying on of
the activities specified in the
notice.
Given the new range of remedies
provided for, the inspectors are
clearly in a better position to secure
an improvement in standards of
safety and health in industry. It
seems likely that they will make
considerable use of the powers
con f er red by Section 35 in
particular. For persons whose
traditional approach has been per-
suasive rather than coercive the
improvement notice or direction is
an effective and compatible en-
forcement device. The Act is much
stronger as a result of its adoption.
Conclusion
The measure of the success of this
piece of legislation will be its
impact on workplace health and
safety. It will be a number of years
before a judgment on this issue is
possible. Nevertheless, it must be
recognised that the Act represents
a radical departure from past
practice and offers a hope that the
unacceptably high toll of industrial
accidents can be reduced. We take
the view that when this Act is
implemented the law on health and
safety will no longer be a stumbling
block in the way of increased
safety and health at work. The legal
parameters have been set in a very
reasonable manner. Employers,
workers and inspectors must now
secure the objectives set.
References
1. Report of the Committee on Health &
Safety at Work 1970-72 (the Robens
Report) CMWD 5034
Report of the Commission of Inquiry on
Safety Health & Welfare at work 1983
(the Barrington Report) P1 1868
2. It is even evident that ILO Convention No
152 is based heavily on the Robens
principles - one of the architects of the
report has referred to it as "Robens
re-visited".
3. Paragraph 17.5
4 . The introduction of measures to
encourage improvements in the safety
and health of workers in the workplace
(New Framework Directive)
The minimum safety and health
requirements for the workplace (1st
Individual Directive)
The minimum safety and health require-
ments for the use by workers of
machines, equipment and installations
(2nd Individual Directive)
The minimum safety and health
requirements for the use by workers of
personal protective equipment (3rd
Individual Directive).
5. It is envisaged that the existing Safety
Committee structure will continue where
it operates successfully but the system
will no longer be based on statutory
requirements.
6. At least seventeen separate offences
arise out of the provisions of the Act
itself.
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7. This compares very unfavourably with
the UK where roughly 4 0 00 prohibition
notices are served under the equivalent
provisions (Section 22) of the Health and
Safety at Work Act 1974.
* Declan Madden and John
Brennan are Solicitors with the
Federated Union of Employers.
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