From April 2000 to March 2010, there were reported to have been 45 fatalities, 846 major injuries and 1730 minor injuries on building sites in Northern Ireland.
However, there were only 31 prosecutions as a result of those fatalities. The Trade Minister, Arlene Foster explained that the lowly number of prosecutions can be attributed to the fact that a prosecution is not always possible, as in some instances, the death is of a self-employed person.
When asked what steps she intended to take to ensure contractors have, at all times, overall responsibility for health and safety issues on building sites, the Minister stated that they are already established duties relating to such issues in the Construction, Design and Management Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 2007/291.
