The Safe Pass Health and Safety Awareness Training Programme aims to ensure that all construction workers in Ireland have a basic knowledge of health and safety. Safe Pass is a one-day programme to enable them to work on construction sites without being a risk to themselves or others who might be affected by their actions. Safe Pass is run by FÁS employment services and programmes which were transferred to the Department of Social Protection in January 2012.
Employers are required by law to ensure that employees on construction sites in Ireland carry Safe Pass cards. As a result, employers must ensure that all employees are properly trained. This provision for Safe Pass training is set down in Schedule 6, SI 481 of 2001 (Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations, 2001).
The health and safety awareness training provided under the Safe Pass Programme complies with the provisions of the Safety, Health, and Welfare at Work Act 2005, the Safety Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations (pdf), and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2006 (pdf)
The Safe Pass programme aims to:
All workers in the construction sector in Ireland, including construction apprentices registered under the Standards-Based Apprenticeship Scheme and trainees undergoing traineeships in the construction industry, must undergo safety awareness training and registration under the Safe Pass Programme before they begin work on a construction site. There are FAQs about the Safe Pass programme on the Health and Safety Authority website.
You will be issued with a Safe Pass Registration Card once you successfully complete the one-day Safe Pass training programme. This card lasts for 4 years from the date of the training course. You must then undergo a further Safe Pass training course when your Safe Pass card expires. The Safe Pass registration card is about the size of a credit card. It shows the FÁS logo, a hologram, the registration and expiry date and your photo on the front. On the back of the card is written the text 'Health and Safety Training'. You must sign your name on the back of your card.
The training modules in the Safe Pass Programme are:
Prospective Safe Pass tutors must have a FÁS-recognised training or education qualification and meet one of the following criteria:
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FÁS will give priority to candidates who can demonstrate that they can deliver the Safe Pass Programme on a regular basis.
All workers in the construction sector in Ireland must have received Safe Pass safety awareness training and be in possession of a Safe Pass Card before they can work on construction sites.
Safe Pass Registration Cards expire after 4 years. You must undergo a further course once your Safe Pass Registration Card expires.
It is illegal to forge or alter a Registration Card or to make any other card that resembles a Registration card. All of the personal details on your Registration Card must be accurate and it is illegal for you to provide information to FÁS that is false.
Every contractor (or other person working on his or her behalf) is required by law to ensure that everyone under his or her direct control on a construction site has received Safe Pass training and has been issued with a current Registration Card as specified above.
Normally, it is the employer who pays the course fee. There is a participant's registration fee of €23 which you pay when you apply for the course. You are issued with a Safe Pass Registration Card when you have successfully completed the course.
If you later leave the workplace, you can still keep your Registration Card, provided it is in date.
Your employer cannot require you to reimburse them for the cost of the course if you subsequently leave your job. (The only exception to this is where you have signed something in your contract of employment stating you will reimburse any training fees incurred before you have given a certain period of service).
If you are currently unemployed, have got a job on a construction site but are required to have a Safe Pass Card before you start work, your FÁS local office may be able to provide assistance with the fee. This is only where you are unable to pay the €23 fee yourself. You may be required to show evidence that you have actually secured the job before you are given any assistance with the fee.
Employers should check with their local FÁS office to ensure that the Safe Pass tutor they have in mind has been approved by FÁS before arranging for employees to attend the Safe Pass Programme in question.
Employers, trainers or individuals wishing to participate in the Safe Pass Programme may apply by contacting a FÁS-approved Safe Pass tutor on the register of Safe Pass Accredited Tutors.
If you are looking for accreditation as a Safe Pass tutor you should apply to FÁS with a copy of all relevant construction, safety and training qualifications on the Safe Pass tutor application form (pdf)