Construction industry in new child-safety drive

The construction industry has unveiled an initiative aimed at warning children and parents against the dangers of building sites.

Five children have been killed and scores more injured while playing on sites in Ireland in the past four years.

Mr Liam Kelleher, the Director-General of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), said today the industry has been trying to prevent deaths and injuries by encouraging better fencing and security on sites.

But he warned, these measures could only be successful when combined with a policy of education children to the dangers.

"Children are fascinated by adventure and from an early age, especially young boys are fascinated by diggers, dumpers and machines and with characters such as Bob the Builder," he said.

"Unfortunately the real world can be different. Many children see construction sites as adventure playgrounds and are not aware that the site that they enter is extremely dangerous."

The CIF has therefore produced a pack that is to be distributed in primary schools in the run-up to European Construction Safety Week, which takes place later this month. It contains a magazine aimed at children, posters and stickers, and guidelines for contractors who are planning to arrange talks in schools throughout Ireland.

The President of the INTO, Mr Austin Corcoran, said the union, which represents 26,000 teachers, "had no hesitation" in supporting the programme.

"No one knows better the anguish of parents when a child suffers an injury than the teacher and indeed no one knows better, the distress and anguish that can be experienced by the classmates of a child that has died," he said.