THE HEALTH AND SAFETY AUTHORITY (HSA) ANNUAL REPORT 2024
January 2026In mid-2025, the Health and Safety Authority (“HSA”) published its Annual Report for 2024. The HSA has an extensive remit which encompasses occupational safety and health, chemical safety, market surveillance and the national accreditation service. Its work programme for 2024 marked the final year of delivery for its strategy statement 2022-2024. It also laid the foundations for a new strategy for 2025-2027.
In her introduction to the 2024 Report, the Chairperson of the Authority, Patricia Byron, indicated that the agriculture and construction sector continue to present significant health and safety challenges.
We have set out below some of the key points outlined in the report, in particular in relation to the construction sector.
Key Statistics
During the course of 2024, 11,667 inspections and investigations were conducted by the HSA across all economic sectors. There was a particular focus on sectors such as construction, agriculture, health and social care, transport, retail, manufacturing utilities and quarrying sectors. This was an increase on the 10,713 inspections and investigations carried out in 2023. There were 2,579 inspections, investigations and prosecutions in the construction sector, as against the 2,119 inspections and investigations carried out in this sector in 2023.
The Authority carried out more than 1,000 occupational health and hygiene inspections focusing on chemical, biological and physical agents along with psycho-social hazards and risks.
During 2024, a key area of focus for the HSA was risks associated with psycho-social hazards, such as workplace stress and bullying, and the growing challenges posed by new technologies and digitalisation in the workplace.
It was highlighted in the Report that there was a reduction in work-related fatalities, with the lowest number of fatalities on record (34) since the HSA was established in 1989. All of these fatalities were investigated by the HSA. 796 chemicals inspections were undertaken which covered all aspects of chemical production, storage, use and transport.
Victim Liaison Office
The Authority also established a Victim Liaison Office (“VLO”) in 2023. The role of this office is to inform victims of the progress of a case and relevant court dates with regard to any subsequent prosecution. In 2024, a total of 34 cases were referred to the VLO and over 200 external communications were issued to victims and their legal representatives.
The Construction Safety Partnership Advisory Committee (“CSPAC”)
Its action plan for 2022-2024 was concluded in 2024. Most of the planned objectives and goals were either achieved or partially achieved. This resulted in the creation of extensive resources for the construction sector including guidance, online safety courses and awareness campaigns. CSPAC has developed and proposed a new action plan for 2025-2027 which aligns with the HSA’s Strategy Statement 2025-2027. It outlines actions needed to improve occupational safety and health in construction. It will focus on the following:
- Promoting the standardisation of good workplace practices
- Developing useful resources that the industry will champion to enhance safety, health and welfare and well-being for all workers in the construction sector.
Occupational Safety and Health Programme
The report focuses on this in terms of actions completed by it this year. The proposed actions were:
- Investigate all fatal accidents reported to the HSA
- Assess and respond using a risk-based approach to serious workplace accidents
- Hold wrongdoers to account, in conjunction with the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
In broad terms, all of these actions were achieved.
The HSA had a target of delivering 10,000 proactive inspections by way of specific campaigns and targeted inspections against all economic sectors but focusing where risks are highest. It surpassed this target. The inspectors found that 74% of workplaces had a safety statement available at the place of work. In 28% of cases, the inspector required the duty holder to make further improvements to the safety statement.
Construction
The Report indicates that two targeted construction campaigns were undertaken on construction sites during 2024.
- A work at height campaign, focusing on work at height and ergonomics, ran for four weeks in Q4 2024. The campaign included 232 inspections and resulted in 178 reports of inspection, 33 prohibition notices and two improvement notices being served.
- The Authority carried out a nationwide inspection campaign focusing on work at height for a two week period between Q2 and Q3 2024. A total of 104 inspections were carried out in this period, the majority of which were undertaken on housing projects with multiple units. Other sites included single house builds and commercial/civil/ road works. Inspectors issued 68 enforcement notices with written verbal advice, four prohibition notices and one improvement notice during the period of the campaign.
There were also two occupational health campaigns completed in relation to the construction sector involving the following:
- Sun exposure in construction
- Manual handling in construction
Prosecutions under Safety Health and Welfare at Work Acts
A total of 11 HSA prosecutions were concluded in 2024. Nine were concluded on indictment and two were concluded summarily. These cases resulted in fines totalling €1,440,000, divided between indictment (€1,437,000) and summary (€3,000). Probation was applied in two of the cases heard on indictment.
The report also provides a summary of the prosecutions concluded during the course of 2024, including one prosecution where a fine of €600,000 was imposed on a company in the case of a fatality to a worker in a place of work, where there was:
- No adequate lighting in place for working outside daylight hours
- No traffic marshal in place during the refuelling process
- No proper segregation of people and plant and machinery
- A failure to switch off plant and machine during the process of refuelling
Conclusion
The HSA embarked on a new programme of work in 2025 under its Strategy Statement for 2025-2027. This is likely to build on the work done and targets achieved on foot of its earlier Strategy Statement. One of the key aims of the HSA was to put in place a system of tools and resources for entities in the construction sector, to assist them with risk management and conducting their own risk assessments (the BeSMART.ie tool, for example). It is clear that the construction sector will continue to be a key area of focus for the HSA into the future and that it will continue to work with employers and workers in assisting them in meeting their obligations.
If you have any questions regarding the information discussed in this article, please contact Sarah Conroy.
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