Companies were warned today they risk being held responsible for workplace accidents even if their workers are found to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.
The warning came at the launch of a new scheme to help employers deal with drug and alcohol issues in the workplace.
EPIC Programme Ireland, which is supported by BUPA Ireland, aims to assist companies in introducing new policies ahead of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act (2005), which comes into effect from September 1st.
The act places responsibility on employers to implement alcohol and drug policies in all workplaces.
"Directors need to know that they risk being liable if an accident occurs at work and intoxicants are found to have contributed to that accident," said Declan Murphy, chief executive of EPIC.
"In our view, every company should have an alcohol and drug policy - not just statements but a policy - and they must implement that policy."
The new initiative, which has been set up by Mr Murphy and the entrepreneur Bill Cullen, aims to help firms to establish clear guidelines and procedures for dealing with substance abuse at work.
The programme will offer employer statements outlining firm's policies on alcohol and drug abuse. The initiative will also include guidelines on how organisations can assist employees found to have substance abuse problems.
Speaking at the National Concert Hall in Dublin today, Mr Cullen said: "In order to address the problems associated with our harmful consumption of addictive substances we need to look at how we deal with such issues in a new and different way and we need to do it urgently.
"The economic cost of alcohol abuse has been estimated at a staggering €2.65 billion per annum. Being top of the European list of binge drinkers is something that Ireland can ill afford."
