Tough laws aim to halt site deaths

THE Government may introduce a crime of corporate manslaughter for construction firms that continue to flout safety laws.

Building firms who failed to meet their legal safety obligations were blamed for around half of the 21 deaths on sites last year by the safety authorities.

Labour Minister Frank Fahey yesterday said these deaths were unacceptable and new laws due to be published shortly will crack down on rogue developers by introducing a range of heavy penalties.

He said he would consider introducing a penalty points system for employers and a crime of corporate manslaughter, following lobbying from building unions.

New maximum penalties for those found responsible for workplace accidents will range from €3,000 to €300,000 instead of the current maximum fine of €1,900 before the District Court.

The minister accepted that despite a range of safety measures introduced in recent years, the level of deaths on building sites was unacceptably high. However, there has been some progress with the appointment of safety officers, better response to safety and the training of thousands of builders.

Under the “safe pass” system, 180,000 construction workers will have been trained by the time the programme finishes next April.

Building unions, such as SIPTU and BATU, say construction firms have been able to get away lightly by ignoring safety laws. Their calls were yesterday echoed in the Dáil by Labour’s Tommy Broughan, who called for urgent Government action on the issue.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) says flouting of safety laws among sections of the industry is a source of considerable concern. In a report late last year, it said nearly half of all fatal accidents occurred at sites where a project supervisor had not been appointed, as required by law.

It called for new legislation to be targeted at company headquarters, who were responsible for almost one third of site fatalities.

Deaths in the construction industry are now second only to the agriculture and forestry sector.

The jailing of a director of a building company last month for repeated breaches of safety regulations highlighted concerns over non-compliance with safety standards in the industry.

The Construction Industry Federation says it has been engaging positively with trade unions over safety issues and major progress has been made on sites.

The HSA has also recognised this and says the number of site closures fell from 55 to 33 in recent years, reflecting greater compliance.