UCC fined €80k over death of employee following cherry-picker accident

UCC was fined €80,000 and ordered to pay Health and Safety Authority costs of €4,000 for breaches which resulted in the death of an employee assisting a cherry-picker operator on campus, as the judge spoke about complacency with such vehicles on the streets of Cork.

Commenting generally on cherry-pickers he had seen on the streets of Cork City yesterday and earlier in the week — not related to UCC — Judge Donagh McDonagh said that some of them had no protective fence to keep members of the public away.

He said he saw a seven-year-old child sitting on the arm of one such vehicle, which had been left unattended with the engine running.