Display Screen Equipment (DSE) is the regulatory term used in Irish health and safety law to describe any alphanumeric or graphic display screen used at work — typically desktop monitors, laptops, tablets and other visual displays. It originated in EU Directive 90/270/EEC and was transposed into Irish law via the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 (SI 299/2007). The term covers the screen itself and the associated workstation: chair, desk, keyboard, mouse and the immediate working environment. An employer in Ireland has specific duties for staff who use DSE for significant parts of their normal work, including providing workstation assessment, training, eye tests on request, and organising work to reduce continuous screen exposure.
DSE is sometimes called VDU (Visual Display Unit) in older Irish documentation — the terms refer to the same regulatory category. The DSE Regulations were the first ergonomics-specific occupational health requirement in EU law.
DSE includes laptops, tablets, smartphones used for work, control-room displays, point-of-sale screens, and any other alphanumeric or graphic display. It excludes purely decorative displays.
The employer's duties only apply for employees who are DSE users — those who use DSE as a significant part of their normal work. Practically, this means anyone using a screen for more than ~1 continuous hour or ~2.5 cumulative hours a day on a routine basis.
Reviewed by our specialist ergonomics team. Last updated 11 June 2026.
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