Firms were recently urged to consider using measures, including random tests on workers, to combat what was described as the "growing problem of alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace".

Mr Piers Merchant, director of campaigns at the London Chamber of Commerce, said that substance abuse was a major issue for business.

"For firms, there is the added risk of being prosecuted under health and safety legislation or sued as a result of an action by a worker suffering from the effects of drink or drugs."

Mr Pat O'Halloran, a senior inspector with the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), told The Irish Times that an employer could be prosecuted under health and safety legislation in the Republic for an accident arising due to a worker being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This could arise if a worker habitually turned up drunk for work and the behaviour was condoned or not supervised.

However, he was not aware of any such case taken by the HSA.

A recent report by the London Chamber of Commerce showed British industry loses approximately £2 billion sterling (#3.3 billion) a year through alcohol-related illnesses, yet 43 per cent of firms had no workplace alcohol and drugs policy. Workplace problems can result from staff getting drunk or taking drugs outside office hours as well as during them.

The report found that workers can test positive to an alcohol test 24 hours after a drinking session and that even small amounts of alcohol can impair judgment, co-ordination and reaction, leading to the added risk of accidents.

Workers are more likely to admit to a drink problem if they feel it will be dealt with as a health problem and not result in immediate disciplinary measures.

Dr Tom Donnelly, occupational medical adviser with the HSA, said there were two basic approaches to dealing with alcohol and drugs in the workplace - the US and European models.

The US model tends to regard being under the influence of alcohol or drugs in the workplace as a disciplinary offence. Workers sign contracts to the effect that they can be tested any time and any place. "We wouldn't advocate that," Dr Donnelly said.

With the European model, the employer is expected to show compassion, referring the worker to the occupational health department, employee assistance programme or support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous.

Dr Donnelly said there were no guidelines as such on alcohol in the Irish workplace, and no specific regulation.

Someone could be driving a machine four times the size of a double-decker bus and there was no legal alcohol limit as applies on roads, he observed.

However, the HSA could use its powers, issuing notice because of potential injury.

"The beauty of our legislation is it's non-specific," he said.

The London Chamber noted an estimated 14 million working days are lost each year in Britain through alcohol-related illnesses and up to 25 per cent of workplace accidents are alcohol-related. It noted that illicit drug use had increased by 30 per cent in the past seven years and that 25 per cent of drug users seeking help were in full-time employment.

Dr Donnelly conceded that the HSA does not collate statistics on the number of Irish workplace accidents or fatalities that involve alcohol or drugs.

He suggested it could be difficult to establish the extent to which alcohol was a factor in workplace accidents, citing difficulties that even the Gardai had on occasion in proving the accuracy of blood tests.

Dublin-based Ms Anya Pierce, secretary of the European Workplace Drug Testing Society, was involved in drawing up the 1996 EU guidelines on drug testing at work, which were not implemented.

The society is working towards new draft guidelines that will be published within two months on the society's website, www.ewdts.org.

Ms Pierce said a lot of drugs testing went on in the Republic but mainly at pre-employment screening. Some companies in the State do random drugs testing, while some transport companies do it following an accident.

Ms Pierce will present a paper on attitudes to pre-employment drugs testing in the Republic, Sweden and Portugal at the EAP Institute's conference, which takes place in Dublin on September 19th.

For details of the conference - Drug and Alcohol Abuse: Workplace Implications for Health and Safety - contact the EAP Institute. Tel: 051-855733 or e-mail eapinstitute@eircom.net

jmarms@irish-times.ie