A construction company and its owner were today fined almost a £250,000 for health and safety breaches which led to the deaths of two workers.
Mr Denis McIntyre, director of Roseberry Construction in Newbridge, Co Kildare, appeared before the Circuit Court in Naas, following the deaths of two men who were buried alive when a trench collapsed on a housing development in 1998.
McIntyre was fined IR£40,000 and the company IR£200,000 by Judge Raymond Groarke who said there was only "casual respect" paid to safety by the director, and his two co-defendants, Mr Peter Drennan and Mr Sam Hillis.
Mr Drennan, a sub-contractor with the now dissolved Dampcure Building Preservation, received an 18-month suspended sentence and a IR£7,000 fine for reckless endangerment in the same incident.
Mr Hillis, a self-employed digger driver on the site was fined IR£1,000 for breach of health and safety regulations. All were prosecuted under the Health and Safety Act and Mr McIntyre's firm was attacked for not having a Health and Safety statement.
Mr Sean Treacey of Portlaoise, and Mr Robert Dunne of Bodenstown in Co Kildare, died when the trench in which they were working collapsed at the Ballymany Manor Housing Development in Newbridge, Co Kildare, in July 1998.
Furious protests ensued with walkouts by builders throughout the Republic complaining about the poor safety record of the construction industry.
Despite the protests, 18 people have died working in the industry this year and four children have lost their lives on construction sites.
Inspectors have issued 600 prohibition orders since January on sites where "serious contraventions" of Health and Safety law have been found.
Hailing today's result as a "milestone", Mr Tom Beegan, director of the Health and Safety Authority said: "This case is a tragedy for all concerned and highlights the enormous human and financial cost of work place accidents for employers, workers and their families.
"The message which must go out today to employers in all sectors, and not just the construction industry, is that they have a statutory obligation to pro-actively manage safety in the workplace."
PA