Limerick fares well in workplace death figures

LIMERICK has emerged as one of the safest counties for workers as the latest report by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) shows that no workplace deaths occurred in the city and county in 2012. However, the figures for Clare show that six people lost their lives in work related accidents over the past twelve months including two farmers who died in separate incidents in May and November and two fishermen who lost their lives at sea off the coast at Quilty in August.

A 58-year-old construction worker was killed after he came into contact with overhead power lines near Tubber in September while a mechanic in Sixmilebridge died after another workplace accident in March.

The HSA figures show 47 people lost their lives in workplace incidents throughout the country over the past twelve months with two of them involving the deaths of children. This represented a 13 per cent reduction in the number of people who lost their lives in work-related accidents last year compared to the 54 who were killed in 2011.

The agriculture sector recorded the highest number of deaths for the third year in a row, with 21 occurring in 2012 compared to 22 in 2011.
HSA chief executive Martin O’Halloran said that farmers don’t always make a distinction between their home and thier farm and this could have given them a false sense of security.

On a positive note, the biggest reduction in fatalities occurred in the transportation and storage sector, with one death reported in 2012 compared to seven in 2011.