The head of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has described workplace deaths in the agriculture and construction sectors as “persistent”, despite an overall fall across the economy over the past ten years.

Conor O’Brien was speaking as the authority published its annual report for 2023, which showed that 43 work-related deaths were reported last year.

There were 20 deaths in agriculture, fishing and forestry, and 11 in construction.

Although the number of deaths was higher than in 2022, the authority points out that the 2022 figure had been the lowest since the HSA was set up in 1989.

The body says that the rate of work-related fatalities per 100,000 workers in Ireland over the past ten years has declined from 2.8 in 2014 to 1.6 last year.

Inspections and investigations

The report shows that the authority carried out 9,995 proactive and 463 reactive inspections last year.

The HSA undertook 83 investigations into fatal accidents, of which 43 were deemed work-related.

During the year, the authority launched an inspection programme targeting renewable-energy installations – including wind farms, solar farms, and anaerobic-digestion facilities.

‘Significant step-change'

The body concluded 19 prosecutions last year, with 15 prosecuted on indictment and four prosecuted summarily, resulting in fines totalling just under €1.4 million.

“While much progress has been made in improving workplace safety in recent years, sadly we are seeing a persistent trend over many years now in both the agriculture and construction sectors, where workers continue to lose their lives,” said O’Brien, who added that many of these workers were self-employed.

The HSA chief said that the body would be seeking advice from its sectoral advisory committees on how it could make “a significant step-change” in these sectors to significantly reduce fatality, illness, and injury rates.