A Cork construction company has been fined €7,500 after a six-year-old trespasser fell to his death from a skylight in a school in Mallow.
Patrick Daly died from massive head injuries on May 13th, 2001 - his sixth birthday - following an accident at Davis College in Mallow. He was climbing across a skylight at the college when the glass collapsed beneath him. He fell 20 feet onto a concrete floor below and died of massive head injuries.
Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard the boy had climbed up a ladder which had been left at the site overnight.
It emerged today that the firm, John F Supple Ltd, was warned that its security arrangements the building site were inadequate just weeks before the death.
Mr Eamonn O'Sullivan, a health and safety inspector, told the court that a security contractor had informed the company that a number of children had to be chased off the site just weeks before the Daly accident. He said the skylight at the site was unprotected and unguarded.
John F Supple Ltd pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching health and safety laws at the Mallow site earlier this month. It admitted failing to provide suitable guard rails and also failing to ensure that members of the public were not exposed to risk at the site.
Judge Patrick J Moran said the case was a very tragic one which could have been prevented if the recommendations of the security contractors had been heeded by the company.
He said the breach of health and safety regulations was substantial and fined the company €7,500. "This site was in the middle of town in a thickly populated area. These type of premises can act as an enticement for young children," he said.