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Safety, Health And Welfare At Work (Construction) (Amendment) Regulations 2019
Jurisdiction: ROI
Commencement: 5th April 2019
Amends: Safety, Health And Welfare At Work (Construction) Regulations 2013
Mini Summary
These Regulations contain the main requirements to ensure the protection of the health, safety and welfare of people working on construction sites.
Amendment
These Regulations amend the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013. They facilitate the recognition by SOLAS* of equivalent registration cards to ‘Safe Pass’* and construction skills certification schemes from non European Union (EU) states as compliant with the provisions of the 2013 Regulations.
*(SOLAS is a state organisation established in 2013, with the responsibility for funding, planning and coordinating Further Education and Training in Ireland)
*Safe Pass is a training programme aimed at all construction site personnel, including new entrants, to ensure that they have a basic awareness of health and safety as required by the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013.
A number of minor amendments are made to insert new definitions for ‘Member State’, ‘Professional Qualifications Regulations’, and ‘SOLAS’, and to remove others, namely those for ‘FÁS’ and ‘FETAC award’.
SOLAS is now responsible for the issue of valid construction skills registration cards and the maintenance of the register of cards issued. This was previously done by FAS (Ireland’s National Training Authority) who have now been dissolved.
Schedule 4, which relates to the Safety Awareness Scheme, is amended to reflect changes to that scheme. A valid safety awareness registration card is one of the following:
- a SOLAS Safe Pass Registration Card issued after completion of a SOLAS Safe Pass training programme;
- a registration card with a photographic identification issued by an approved body;
- a registration card issued in association with a scheme in the EU which has been SOLAS approved or;
- a card in a non-EU state which SOLAS has approved.
Schedule 5, which relates to the Construction Skills Certification Scheme, is amended to reflect changes to the process for issuing a construction skills registration card. SOLAS shall issue a construction skills registration card to an applicable person who has been awarded one of the following:
- an award from Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI);
- an award from another body in a SOLAS recognised state equivalent to an award from QQI;
- an award approved by a body in the EU, recognised by SOLAS; or
- an award approved by a body from a non-EU state, recognised by SOLAS.