Ireland has not been backward at making the most of EU laws and subsidies though it has now found itself in deep financial peril as a consequence.

But less advantageous though equally worthy EU legislation, to implement the requirements of Council Directive 2010/32/EU, has been surprisingly slow to implement in Ireland. Trade unions have claimed that the health of Irish healthcare workers has been put at risk by Ireland’s failure to implement an EU directive on the use of medical needles.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions says member states were due to adopt the directive – the eve of International Nurses Day.

ICTU’s legal affairs officer Esther Lynch said needlestick injuries among healthcare workers were ‘notoriously’ unreported – and that workers were injured anywhere between 1,000 and 6,000 times a year. ICTU has called on jobs minister Richard Bruton to implement Irish laws, giving legal effect to the EU directive, without delay.

“The Health & Safety Committee of Congress is recommending the establishment of Needlestick & Sharps injury prevention committees to oversee the implementation of the Directive,” Lynch said.

“These committees should include representatives from all levels, employers and unions including health and safety representatives, occupational health, risk management, purchasing, housekeeping, infection control, employee education and training.”

With a number of high profile sharps injury claims from Ireland in recent months, this is perhaps rather surprising. Hopefully, the lack of formal legislation will not stop healthcare providers from doing the right thing and purchasing safety sharps without delay.