General Principles Behind The Legislation

The Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Act, 2005 (and its 1989 predecessor) puts flesh on a number of core safety principles set out in the Report of the Barrington Commission.

These guiding principles, some of which are set out below, may help you to better understand what the Health & Safety Authority is trying to achieve with this new legislation:

• Responsibility for health and safety rests with those who have the power to make decisions
  
  
• Safety should become an integral part of the management of every business
  
  
• Companies should self-regulate on safety matters (i.e. they should not be relying on the Health and Safety Authority to monitor what they’re doing)
  
  
• There should be a preventative approach to safety based on ‘hazard identification’ and ‘risk assessment’
  
  
• General management principles should apply to all safety issues
  
  
• There should be consultation with employees on health and safety issues.