Almost half of the building sites HSE inspectors have visited date in a month-long enforcement initiative have had serious breaches of health and safety.
Nearly half of the 1,000 sites contained material breaches leading to the issuing of a notice of contravention, while many sites have also been served with enforcement notices for a variety of offences (see images below).
The inspection blitz, which is focused on the repair and refurbishment industry, will last until September 27.
Construction union UCATT has renewed their call for greater funding of construction inspections.
UCATT’s general secretary, Steve Murphy, stated, “These numbers suggest the dangers faced by construction workers daily. Failure to ensure a site’s safety could result in a worker’s death or injury. These figures should be remembered the next time a government minister complains about red tape strangling business.”
Murphy added: “While these initiatives by the HSE are very welcome, inspectors are only visiting a small percentage of all the construction sites in the country. These findings highlight why the HSE requires greater resources to undertake these types of inspections throughout the year in all parts of the country.”