The chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority has said it is in the interests of employers and business to fully adopt all measures under the new Return to Work Safely Protocol ahead of re-opening to avoid any risks to workers.

The chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority has said it is in the interests of employers and business to fully adopt all measures under the new Return to Work Safely Protocol ahead of re-opening to avoid any risks to workers.
Dr Sharon McGuinness said the HSA has new powers that allow it to close workplaces where there is very poor management of health and safety, but this is a final resort.
The new protocol combines health and safety risk and occupational risk with public health guidance to deal with the current Covid-19 emergency.
In the first instance, the HSA will offer employers on-site guidance, advice and direction. 
It can then move to enforce improvement and prohibition notices where workplaces do not meet the safety and standards before enforcing the closure of a workplace “where there is very poor management” of health and safety.
Dr McGuinness said that if workplaces cannot put these measures in place, they should not re-open until they are assured they can protect workers, customers and clients who come to the workplace. 
The decision around what opens or doesn’t comes from the Government and National Public Health Emergency Team and there is now a planned pathway for the next five phases as workplaces try to re-open.
Dr McGuinness said “it is going to be challenging” as Covid-19 is ubiquitous and is in the community and so can enter the workplace.
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Meanwhile, an assistant professor at the School of Architecture at University College Dublin has said a more sophisticated plan for the return to work of the construction industry is needed to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Orla Hegarty told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that as part of the phased return to work next Monday large building sites are re-opening.
She said that the numbers working on building sites need to be controlled as many of those on sites work indoors.
Ms Hegarty said that most construction work happens in Leinster and involves other risks outside of the building site, including how people move around the country, their lodgings and safety measures taken when they return to their families.
She said there are “whole areas of risks to be considered given the numbers of people mobilising from next Monday”.
She said a study in the UK showed that the among the working-age population there has been a higher rate of deaths in the construction industry than in healthcare.
She said a more careful approach is needed and she has written to the new Dáil Committee on Covid-19 to express her concerns. 
Ms Hegarty criticised the Construction Industry Federation’s safety video saying it covers handwashing and social distancing but does not cover personal protective equipment. 
She said subcontractors in the industry will be under particular pressure as they often work in teams in small spaces where distancing may not be possible and they do not get paid if work is not done in a certain timescale.
Ms Hegarty said the Health and Safety Authority needs more powers, saying the compliance officers on building sites will have no powers to enforce safety measures or deal with breaches.