Safety professionals meet in Midwest

April 2009

Norita Robinson, the newly appointed Development Manager (Ireland) for IOSH, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, visited Limerick last week to meet the Western District committee of IOSH Ireland.

The IOSH Ireland Branch, founded in 1981 with just a handful of members, now has more than 1,900 members, including over 220 members in the Western District. The five Ireland Branch District committees – Eastern, Western, North Western, Southern and South Eastern – meet regularly and host conferences, seminars and events for their members.

During her visit Norita outlined her role as Development Manager and her plans for the future development of IOSH in Ireland.

Her plans include raising the public profile of IOSH in Ireland by meeting and developing a working relationship with government officials and business leaders; visiting third level colleges around the country to encourage new graduate membership; and maintaining ongoing contact with the colleges. We're planning to open an IOSH Ireland office in the west Dublin area to support the Institution's Irish members and to provide liaison with IOSH headquarters on behalf of the Irish members.

Since its formation in early 2008, the Western District (covering Galway, Clare, Limerick, Laois and Offaly) has been active in hosting a number of free safety-related seminars, with topics including the REACH Regulations and GHS, workplace transport safety and occupational health. These seminars have been held in Limerick and Ennis.

The next seminar hosted by the Western District will focus on radon protection; this will be of particular interest to both safety professionals and the general public. The presence of radon in our homes and workplaces can have serious and long-term effects on our health and wellbeing. This event will provide valuable information on radon, associated hazards, relevant legislation and standards, radon prevalence in Ireland, testing for radon and how to deal with it. Anyone interested in attending should contact the Western District Secretary, Bernie Mulqueen, on +353 (0)87 689 2964 or via email.

This event will be held in The Strand Hotel, Ennis Road, Limerick on 28 April 2009, at 18.30. The guest speaker will be Ger Lally of the Radon Centre.

Immediately following the presentation the Western District AGM will take place.