Dying coal miners appeal for state compensation

COAL MINERS with chronic occupational diseases, who are dying in alarming numbers, have made an appeal for compensation for the state’s failure to protect them.

A deputation of former miners yesterday appeared before an Oireachtas committee for the second time in 20 months.

In the intervening period 50 of their group have died; the most recent was buried on Tuesday. This was from about 400 who are seeking redress from the state for failing to properly inspect the last of the country’s coal mines.

Solicitor for the group, Gerard O’Connell, said the compensation campaign had been prolonged and he asked Energy Minister Eamon Ryan to act immediately.

He said the miners and their families would take the fight to the High Court if the minister did not act soon because they knew it was the “last throw of the dice”.

“When you are watching your loved ones taking their last breath you will fight tooth and nail to ensure justice is done. These are people who have literally run out of time,” he said.

He said the surviving miners, widows and, in a small number of cases, dependent children, were a defined and limited group which stood at between 300 and 400 members. He claimed redress would not lead to a large exposure from the state.

The coal miners’ group represented former workers from Kilkenny, Tipperary, Laois and Roscommon.

Their argument is that the state had a duty of care to miners since the Mines and Quarries act of 1965. This gave workers the right to a well-ventilated environment free from excessive coal dust. The group said state inspectors did not properly regulate the industry.

Five miners who appeared at the committee criticised the state’s treatment of them and appealed for it to change before they died.