Widespread failure by building contractors to comply with health and safety regulations has been uncovered in a two-week "inspection blitz" of sites.
Only a tiny percentage of sites visited by Health and Safety Authority inspectors were found to be fully compliant with regulations. Fewer than half failed to meet the less rigorous standard of "broad compliance", while in many cases observance of the regulations was either limited or non-existent. The results were described as "extremely disturbing" by the HSA's senior construction inspector, Mr Jim Heffernan.
Just over 250 inspections were carried out by the HSA in the first half of June, as part of a Europe-wide campaign to reduce fatality rates on building sites.
This was only half the number the authority promised when it announced the campaign at the end of May, and only about 50 more than it would normally carry out in a two-week period.
Mr Heffernan yesterday blamed this on "serious pressure" on resources and the fact that a number of inspectors were engaged in major investigations, likely to lead to court cases.
The failure to carry out the anticipated number of inspections was disappointing, he said. "We were probably a little bit over-optimistic in our target."
Preliminary results from the inspections show there was extensive failure to comply with regulations in all of the key areas, including scaffolding, excavations, roof work and training. Fewer than 5 per cent of sites were fully compliant with scaffolding regulations and only 31 per cent were broadly compliant.
Just under half the sites which had excavations or trenches were in either full or broad compliance. Three people were killed in trench accidents on building sites last year.
There was also widespread failure to meet training requirements, with fewer than half the inspected sites in either full or broad compliance.
Some 192 enforcement notices were issued during the two-week campaign.
