The Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity has teamed up with the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) to promote better mental health and wellbeing within the Irish construction industry.

The charity launched its 24/7 Construction Industry Helpline and app in Ireland in June.

The CIF's recent 'Mental Health Report' called for a number of actions to help support the mental health of workers, including ensuring resources are available to develop a positive mental health and wellbeing culture on construction sites.

The report also found that only 13 per cent of micro-enterprises have a formal reporting policy. This is despite half of all companies saying mental health issues affected absenteeism in the industry. 94 per cent of companies believe it is critically important the industry improves management of employees' mental wellbeing.

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The partnership will ensure that organisations are aware of all the free resources available to them including the 24/7 Construction Industry Helpline and app and a huge variety of mental health and wellbeing training.

Bill Hill, the charity's CEO said: "We are delighted to be appointed as the CIF’s charity partner and ensuring that our construction workforce get the support they deserve and need. Our mission is to ensure that no construction worker or their family is alone in a crisis and by joining forces we are able to deliver a clear and strong message to the industry that it’s time to talk and seek help.

"A large proportion of construction workers are sole-traders, micro-enterprises and SMEs. They do not have access to an employee assistance programme (EAP) for support so when things go wrong, the situation can quickly spiral out of control. By making all the services free, confidential and easily accessible, we aim to remove the key barriers to people reaching out for support."