The Injuries Board published figures this week indicating a recent increase in accidents in the workplace, and has said that the increase is likely to be due to the upturn in the economy.  

Data produced by the Injuries Board shows a year-on-year increase in the number of awards made as a result of accidents in the workplace.

IMPACT, which represents inspectors at the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), has issued a number of warnings on the likelihood of this upward trend, as overall employment numbers continue to climb while the number of workplace inspections continues to drop due to a decrease in the number of HSA staff available to carry out inspections.

The number of inspections had dropped from 16,000 in 2009 to 13,000 in 2012 and 12,244 last year.

IMPACT official Geraldine O’Brien said three front-line inspectors had been redeployed from the HSA in just over a year. She said that this could result in 900 fewer inspections. Geraldine added “A further five front-line inspector posts have been earmarked for future redeployment to meet official staffing reduction targets. Meanwhile, the number of people working in often hazardous workplaces continues to grow.”

National secretary Matt Staunton added "Government inaction on this issue will inevitably lead to a rise in the cost of insurance in workplaces. This would likely have a knock-on effect of stunting our fragile national recovery. There is a well proven connection between positive workplace health and safety and a reduction in insurance premiums, which have become one of the biggest employment costs in recent years. The deliberate running down of the HSA by its funding department (Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation) will cause this situation to get worse instead of better" he said.