Working at height training online in Ireland: what Part 4 of the 2007 Regulations requires, the HSA's key messages, and what an online course covers

What counts as work at height

The HSA's work at height page, read on 9 November 2026, defines it as work in any place, including at, above or below ground level, where a person could be injured if they fell from that place; access and egress can also be work at height. Its examples include working on trestles, a flat roof, a ladder, formwork, at ground level beside an excavation, and near fragile materials. There is no minimum height.

The law

Part 4 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 299 of 2007) is the work at height part. The HSA summarises what it requires of employers: all work at height is properly planned and organised; a risk assessment is carried out for all work at height; appropriate work equipment is selected and used; people working at height are competent; equipment is properly inspected and maintained; and risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled. It sits under the general duties in sections 8, 10 and 19 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.

The HSA's key messages

• Carry out a risk assessment and make sure all work at height is planned, organised and carried out by a competent person.
• Follow the general principles of prevention: avoid work at height where you can, prevent falls where you cannot, and reduce the distance and consequences of a fall where the risk remains.
• Choose the right work equipment, and choose collective measures that prevent falls (guard rails, working platforms) before measures that only reduce the consequences (nets, airbags) or protect one person (fall arrest harnesses).

What a course should cover

• The definition, the hierarchy and how to apply it to a real task.
• Planning: weather, ground conditions, overhead lines, falling objects, exclusion zones, and a rescue plan before anyone goes up.
• Ladders and stepladders: when they are a sensible choice for short, low-risk work, pre-use checks, angle, securing, three points of contact.
• Mobile towers, podiums and MEWPs: what each is for and who may use them.
• Fragile surfaces and roofs, edge protection and falling objects.
• Inspection of equipment and what to record.

Lift College's Working at Height Training (Ireland) is 1.5 hours in 5 modules, written for Ireland with Part 4 of the 2007 Regulations, the 2005 Act and the HSA, with a check after every module and a dated, verifiable certificate. It is priced in euros. It costs €22.99, pay once, with 14-day money back. Lift College recommends a refresh every 3 years, free.

What it cannot do

• Certify anyone to operate a MEWP, erect a scaffold or work in a harness. Those need practical, assessed training on the equipment, and scaffolding on construction sites needs the SOLAS Construction Skills Certification Scheme card.
• Replace the employer's risk assessment and rescue plan for the task.
• Replace the pre-use check on the ladder in front of you.

Where to go next

• See the course: Working at Height Training (Ireland).
• Browse all Ireland courses, priced in euros.
• Workplaces in the UK should take Working at Height Training, which covers UK law.