Irish registers are set to get legal backing

Contractors in Northern Ireland expect the government to introduce legislation by April 2006, backing both the local register of qualified operatives and the register of firms with independently accredited safety management systems.
Tony Doran, managing director of the Northern Ireland Construction Employers Federation, said parallel legislation, which has had a phased introduction in the Republic since 2002, had proved "hugely successful".
The Northern Ireland Office said last year that it would be asking firms tendering for public sector contracts to show that all their operatives have received health and safety training, and that the firms are registered with the Safe-T-Cert system of accredited safety management. Enforcing legislation will be introduced if there is not sufficient progress.
Doran said: "We have come a fair way. The number of registered operatives has more than doubled to exceed 20,000 and are coming through at some 1,500 a month. We also have around 400 firms going through the Safe-T-Cert process.
"We are pleased with the progress. There is a lot still to be done. But it is beginning to work. You do need a long-term shift in attitudes."