‘Bill died from the pressure of coughing’

LONG after the country’s coal mines closed, the men who chipped away at the seams struggle for breath, with the industry’s filthy legacy lying on their lungs.

These miners toiled to keep production going in Kilkenny, Tipperary, Laois and Roscommon until the 1990s.

And yesterday they came “cap in hand” to the Oireachtas asking for compensation for the state’s failure to protect them from the fumes and dust which resulted in them suffering from pneumoconiosis, asthma, heart disease and deafness.

They said they could bring their fight to the High Court but were reluctant to do so because they did not have time.

There are between 300 and 400 miners or their widows involved in the campaign but in the last 20 months, 50 have died.

Retired miner Sean Lyons told the committee his former colleague Bill McMongale was buried in Tipperary on Tuesday after suffering from the same heart-related complications he lives with.

“Bill was a coal-miner. He died of a heart attack from the pressure from coughing, the same as myself.

“We don’t seem to be getting anywhere. And if we don’t get something or something isn’t done about it soon it will be too late for a lot of us,” he said.

The miners told the committee they are not entitled to full disability allowance because their diseases are not recognised as occupational.

They said they wanted the Government to recognise its inspection regime was lax and resulted in health standards being sidelined.

After the meeting the men’s heavy breaths and congested coughing could be heard as they walked up the stairs from basement committee rooms.

They were hoping the message they delivered would carry across to the Energy Minister Eamon Ryan. Their campaign wants a small-scale inquiry and assessment of their medical conditions and the underlying causes.

A similar compensation scheme was introduced in Britain 13 years ago. However, British mines were Government-owned while the Irish mines were private operations. Solicitor for the group Gerard O’Connell told the committee the state still had a duty of care to inspect and regulate conditions after the Mines and Quarries Act 1965.

He said inspections were not carried out and the statutory inspection reports from that period have disappeared.

Mr O’Connell said the miners would accept a redress scheme without an admission of guilt if the Government wanted to avoid exposure to other claims.

The Energy and Natural Resources Committee gave its support to the group yesterday.

Fine Gael’s Noel Coonan said it was a “national scandal”. Liz McManus of the Labour Party demanded departmental officials explain why the miners’ case could not be treated compassionately.