Actually, I was thinking about private safety advisors and consultants, who could well come across situations that are in breach of safety law during their assignments.
Sorry, I was distracted by your use of the word Inspector.
Health and Safety Consultants have a duty of care to their employer, his employees and member of the public.
However the legislation is specifically in place in relation to Health, Safety and Welfare AT WORK - not elsewhere.
This
link addresses the reporting of accidents, i.e. notifiable occurrences, but by definition, these occur after the fact.
Its not just specialist consultants who have duties of care.
Designers of buildings have a duty under the construction health and safety regulations, generally.
Construction work is so dangerous that over a certain size/time, project supervisors are required by law.
The underlying principle of fire consultants is "safety of occupants from fire", so safety is endemic to their work.
In factories and other places of work the duty of care rests with the employer to provide a safe place of work, training, safety equipment, etc.
I'm not certain that Members of the public have a specific duty of care, but their first posts of call are usually the emergency services, the council, the ESB and Bórd Gáis, for relevant issues.
In general, Health and Safety hazard issues should be reported to someone in control of the place or undertaking, as opposed to an agent, servant, workman, etc.
This person is a "responsible person" so, for example...
- the owner or occupier of a premises
- the main contractor
- the director
...in other words, someone who can take the necessary steps to address the hazard.
I prefer to report hazards to the Health and Safety Authority directly, with a description and photographs.
ONQ
[broken link removed]
All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.