Calls for new safety measures after truck driver dies at Dublin Port

A man has died after the truck he was driving was hit by another vehicle at Dublin Port on Wednesday.

The incident, which occurred at about 10.30am, is now subject to inquiries by An Garda Síochána and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), which investigates work place fatalities.

The death is understood to be the fourth on Irish docks in the last year and has prompted calls for a health and safety regime similar to the Safe Pass certification adopted in the construction sector.

It is believed the deceased, who was in his 50s and from Ireland, was having a refrigeration unit loaded onto the back of his truck on the north docks when he was struck by another vehicle.

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Gardaí said his body has been removed to the mortuary where a postmortem will take place. A file is to be prepared for the coroner’s court.

Siptu's ports, docks and harbour organiser Jerry Brennan said there had been about nine deaths in the sector around the country in the last two years. Mr Brennan called for a meeting with Minister for Business Heather Humphreys to discuss an appropriate response.

“These tragedies are occurring with frightening and frankly quite sickening regularity,” he said. “It is beyond my comprehension how the construction industry has had the benefit of a national Safe Pass certificate requirement for almost 30 years and yet there is no such corresponding national requirement within our ports and docks.”

Mr Brennan expressed his sympathy to the family of the deceased but said he hoped the man’s death would be the final one before action was taken.

In 2016, a HSA report on dock work said the industry was generally considered to be high risk.

“Merchant ships can also be hazardous workplaces and port workers and seafarers work together at the ship/shore interface in our ports and docks,” it said.

According to international data, the main causes of accidents are slips and trips, being hit by moving or falling objects, and during manual handling.