General Application Regulations 2007 and HSA accident reporting

General Application Regulations 2007 and reporting accidents to the HSA

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, S.I. No. 299 of 2007, are Ireland's main set of detailed workplace safety rules made under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. They came into operation on 1 November 2007 (S.I. 299/2007). As amended, they have 14 Parts, including accident and dangerous occurrence reporting to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) (LRC revised edition).

The Regulations were signed on 14 June 2007. Regulation 1(2) brought them into force on 1 November 2007, though the explanatory note gives Regulations 9, 122 and 134 their own later periods (S.I. 299/2007). After the 2023 amendment, the collective citation is the "General Application Regulations 2007 to 2023" (S.I. 255/2023).

What the General Application Regulations 2007 cover

The original 2007 text had eight Parts (S.I. 299/2007). Later Parts were added at the end, and nothing was renumbered. The Law Reform Commission revised edition, updated to 24 May 2023, shows the current consolidated text.

Chemical agents, carcinogens, biological agents and confined spaces are not in S.I. 299/2007. Confined spaces are in S.I. 218/2001 (LRC revised edition).

How the 2007 Regulations have been amended

• S.I. 176/2010 inserted Part 9 on artificial optical radiation from 29 April 2010.
• Pressure systems became Part 10 on 1 January 2013 (S.I. 445/2012).
• On 1 July 2016, S.I. 36/2016 added Parts 11 to 13 and revoked S.I. 203/1972, S.I. 357/1974 and S.I. 30/1982.
• Accident reporting has been Part 14 since 1 November 2016 (S.I. 370/2016).
• Work equipment rules changed on 1 April 2020 under S.I. 2/2020.
• S.I. 255/2023 added Regulation 6(e): fresh air in an enclosed workplace must take account of the relevant HSA code of practice.

S.I. 732/2007 made technical corrections from 12 November 2007. S.I. 70/2016 aligned the young persons, pregnancy and safety signs schedules with CLP. S.I. 610/2021 replaced Schedule 2 on PPE. S.I. 619/2021 covers PPE for all-terrain vehicle (ATV) operators. Check the commencement of S.I. 619/2021 in the instrument itself before you rely on it. The Irish Statute Book page for the 2005 Act, updated to 17 September 2026, lists no amendment to these Regulations after S.I. 255/2023.

The "general application regulations 2016" are amendments to the 2007 rules, not a separate replacement code. S.I. 36, 70 and 370 of 2016 amended them that year. The accident reporting rules are in S.I. 370/2016, the General Application (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2016.

Which accidents you must report to the HSA

Regulation 225(1) lists six reportable events (S.I. 370/2016):

1. An employee killed in an accident at the place of work or while working away from it.
2. An employee prevented by such an accident from doing their normal work for more than 3 consecutive days. Exclude the accident day, but count non-working days.
3. An employee who dies within one year as a result of such an accident.
4. A person not at work who dies within one year of an accident linked to a place of work or work activity.
5. A person not at work injured in an accident linked to a place of work or work activity, and taken from the scene to a hospital or medical facility for treatment.
6. Any dangerous occurrence listed in Schedule 15, even if nobody was hurt.

Weekends count: a Monday return after a Thursday accident is 3 days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), so it is not reportable. A Tuesday return is 4 days, and that is reportable (Regulation 225).

Schedule 15 lists 15 dangerous occurrences. They include collapse, overturning or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts and lifting equipment, and explosion, collapse or bursting of a closed pressure vessel. An unintentional explosion is listed separately from a fire, which counts if it stops plant or suspends normal work for more than 24 hours. The schedule also covers a scaffold collapse more than 5 m high, a suspended platform or cradle dropping more than 5 m, an uncontrolled or accidental release of a substance that might have caused injury, contact with an overhead line above 200 V, and wind turbine tower collapse or blade separation where the hub height is at least 20 m.

Regulation 227 excludes disease, occupational illness and impairment of mental condition from Part 14. Deaths and injuries of patients under treatment by a registered doctor or dentist are also excluded, with exceptions in that regulation. But the HSA information sheet says a mental injury caused directly by an event, such as shock after an assault, is reportable if it keeps the employee off normal work for more than 3 days.

Who reports and by when

The "responsible person" reports. For an employee, that's the employer. Otherwise it is the person in control of the place of work. If a self-employed person is killed, the owner or tenant of the place of work reports, unless the person who died was that owner or tenant (Regulation 224). The HSA says self-employed people must report their own injuries. A self-employed person can arrange for someone else to make the report (Regulation 225).

HSA reporting requirements depend on the outcome (S.I. 370/2016):

• A death: tell the HSA as soon as possible, by the quickest practicable means, and give the name, brief particulars and location. The written report follows within 5 working days of the death.
• A non-fatal injury or dangerous occurrence: send the written report as soon as reasonably practicable, and no later than 10 working days after the event.

Don't disturb a fatal accident scene until an inspector has inspected it, or until 3 clear days after the report. Exceptions are inspector consent, another statute, or a safety or health need (Regulation 225). Keep each reportable event on record for 10 years, with the same particulars as the approved form, at the workplace or your usual place of business. A record under another enactment counts if it has those particulars (Regulation 226). The HSA says a copy of the submitted report meets that duty (HSA guidance, 2022). There is a defence if you were not aware of the event, despite taking all reasonable steps to have it brought to your notice (Regulation 228).

Older guides still cite "Part X" and Regulations 58-63. Those are the revoked 1993 rules, and they apply only to events before 1 November 2016 (S.I. 370/2016). Schedule 15 does not apply at mines within the Mines and Quarries Act 1965, though electric shock or burn incidents there are reportable under the Mines Regulations 2018.

HSA accident reporting online and the IR1 form

The HSA says injuries should be reported using the online system at webapps.hsa.ie. You can see past reports there and print copies. Dangerous occurrences go through the same online system.

If you can't report online, use the paper IR1 Incident Report Form (HSA forms). Post it to the HSA Contact Centre, The Metropolitan Building, James Joyce Street, Dublin 1. Hard copies are available from contactus@hsa.ie or 0818 289 389. For a fatal accident, call the HSA on 0818 289 389 or the Gardaí on 999 or 112 straight away (HSA information sheet).

A disease or death from a biological agent, such as Legionnaires' disease or COVID-19, has its own form. The HSA portal says not to use online accident reporting for it. COMAH major-accident notifications use the Schedule 7 Notifiable Incident Form, emailed to comah@hsa.ie (HSA).

What the HSA AF2 form is for

The HSA AF2 form is the Approved Form (AF 2), a construction project notification by the Project Supervisor Construction Stage (PSCS). Under Regulation 22(1) of the Construction Regulations 2013, the PSCS gives it before work begins if the work will last more than 30 working days or exceed 500 person-days (S.I. 291/2013). The PSCS displays it on site and keeps it updated. The client files AF1 under Regulation 10, at the same thresholds. File the AF2 online with the HSA. An injury on site is still reported online or on the IR1, not on the AF2.

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