MEETING OF LUCAN/PALMERSTOWN/FONTHILL AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

QUESTION NO. 27

QUESTION: Councillor M. Johansson

To ask the Chief Executive if the council has any involvement with health and safety inspections on construction sites, and if he would make a comment on the recent collapse of scaffolding at a site in Adamstown?

REPLY:

Health, Safety and Welfare on building sites is the sole remit of the HSA under the HSA legislation. The contractor is obliged to report any incidents, as defined in the legislation, to the HSA, and there are onerous consequences legally for failures to notify a proscribed incident. All scaffolding is required to be erected in accordance with licenced procedures, and comply with the scaffolding licence. An investigation by the HSA into the collapse will therefore be established by inspection, and review of the licence.

The HSA have legislative procedures and legal obligations to inspect, and impose sanctions, in the event that the regulations have been breached. This includes both civil action and criminal prosecutions.

The council does not have a role legislatively, excepting where the council is directly funding / responsible for the works in question, in which case its role is that of employer, rather than that of regulatory body. The council retains qualified, competent PSDP and PSCS staff on council projects were such staff are required.