Today's edition of The Irish Times carries a report of a letter that the chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority has been forced to write to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation about the devastation of the authority and its staff due to the "accelerated and additional cut in resources proposed" for the authority. He further warns that the proposed cuts will lead to preventable increases in the number of deaths and serious accidents and illnesses in the workplace. In other words, people may die. These are not my words but those of an authority that is not known for exaggeration or hyperbole. In 2012, 47 people lost their lives in workplace accidents, and to date in 2013 there have been six workplace deaths. That is a total of 53 lives, on average almost one a week. We all agree that those lives could have been saved and those accidents should not have happened. That is why we support the work of the Health and Safety Authority.

Yesterday many of the Tánaiste's colleagues spoke of "agonising" about the decision to abolish the various mobility allowances. On this occasion, however, they do not need to agonise. The Government has been put on notice by the authority charged by the Government with protecting people who work that it is not in a position to fulfil its role. It has put the Government on notice that its inability to fulfil its role will lead to preventable increases in the number of deaths and serious accidents and illnesses in the workplace. It is as stark as that. There is no need to agonise over saving the lives of workers. There is clearly a need to save workers and their families from having to agonise over serious injury or fatal accidents. What is the Tánaiste's position on this letter and the cuts approved by the Minister? Does he as Tánaiste and leader of the Labour Party intend to engage with the Health and Safety Authority on this issue?

We are all keenly aware of the challenges posed by the State's finances, where public expenditure continues to outstrip revenues collected. All public sector organisations must continue to deliver improved services in the context of constrained resources. The careful balancing of resources across organisations is an ongoing exercise. I understand that against this backdrop the agencies operating under the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation were recently informed of 2013 staffing targets as part of the ongoing employment control framework.

The HSA has had an excellent record in recent years in the context of declining resources, which has been achieved largely through the hard work of its staff, through workplace inspections and as a result of its development of innovative tools including BeSMART, its online risk assessment tool, its new online licensing portal designed to make compliance easier, simpler and less costly, and GeoSmart, its inspection management system. Furthermore, awareness campaigns, the involvement of industry organisations and its encouragement of greater compliance by employers contributed to the achievement of strong workplace health and safety levels in Ireland, including a reduction in fatal workplace injuries in 2012.

Sectoral changes, including the collapse in employment in the construction sector, have changed the operational landscape in which the HSA works, and the HSA will continue to adapt. Notwithstanding the concerns expressed about its 2013 staffing target and the undoubted challenges it faces, the authority has proved itself to be an adaptable and high-achieving organisation, having met all of its ECF targets since 2009. Its recent strategy and its programme of work for 2013 outline the HSA's commitment to working smarter - for example, the targeting of its resources at higher-risk sectors, such as agriculture, and places of work; the concentration of information and legislative programmes on higher-risk areas; and the identification of new ways of delivering services by deploying its innovative IT-enabled inspection management tools to support more effective inspections and making more use of desktop inspection for specialist areas - for example, in chemicals. The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation will work with the HSA over the course of 2013 to monitor progress on its targets and to achieve the best use of available staff and resources.

There are no guarantees in that answer. Yes, the HSA and all of its staff are doing a very good job, but the chief executive has been forced to write to the Secretary General of the Department to say that the target proposed is not achievable, based on his experience of current processes and mechanisms. The man whom we charge with heading up the authority that has done such a good job is saying he cannot do that any more. He cannot fulfil his role.

The Tánaiste spoke of workplace inspections. In 2013 the number of inspections will be down by 30%, and there will be further reductions in all services, including the work the HSA does in advising high-tech companies on their processes and resources for research and development. So, here we go again: last Monday there was a big glitz-and-glamour announcement about a research and development programme, but on Thursday one of the agencies charged with assisting that programme has to write to the Department to say it will not be able to assist these companies in doing their job.

A cut and paste answer to that specific charge made by someone charged by this House with delivering a function is frankly not good enough. It is clear in the Secretary General's letter to the HSA that the Minister has signed off on these targets. The authority knows it cannot deliver on them and has outlined the consequences. Again, will the Tánaiste make a specific intervention to ensure the authority will be resourced to deliver? He spoke about tight resources, but the HSA, in its letter to the Minister, has cited a number of examples of organisations, including the Houses of the Oireachtas, ComReg and the Commission for Energy Regulation, that have been given extra posts this year. We are telling an organisation in charge of protecting workers that it will not receive extra resources, while other organisations with less important remits will. It is a question of choices. Is the Tánaiste going to choose to act on behalf of the health and safety of workers?

The Government gives high priority to the issue of health and safety in the workplace. The HSA does a very good job. However, the employment landscape has changed. The numbers involved and the level of activity in construction which used to occupy much of the attention of the HSA have changed. The way in which the authority is conducting its business, for example in online activity, has changed. All of that said, of course, the views of its chief executive are taken seriously by the Government.

They are ignored.

No, they are not. The Secretary General of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is due to meet the chief executive officer of the HSA today to discuss the content of the letter sent. The Government takes the issue of safety very seriously, as well as the views expressed by the HSA's chief executive officer. There is clearly a context in which this issue has to be discussed, namely, the financial constraints we are experiencing and the changed employment environment. The Secretary General of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation will meet the chief executive officer of the HSA today.