Cork County Council fined €50k over fatal tree-felling accident

Cork County Council was ordered to pay €50,000 yesterday for a health and safety offence arising out of the investigation into the death of a workman during tree-felling more than three years ago.

Michael O’Donovan, 44, a father of three from Aghabullogue, Co Cork, and an employee of Cork County Council, was killed while working on a compound off Carr’s Hill in Novem- ber 2012.

Judge Séan Ó Donnabháin said at Cork Circuit Criminal Court: “This is a most unfortunate and sad case in which a man in the course of his work lost his life.

“I am not satisfied the council had sufficient regard to the specialist nature of tree-felling. I am not impressed that they would be relying on buckshee certificates. The felling of trees requires the greatest of care, and professional advice should always be found.”

The judge did not find any aggravating factors in the case such as the carrying out of a work practice in a particular way in order to save money at the expense of safety.

“It appears there has been a sea-change since and they employ outside competent contractors in relation to this work,” he said.

A fine of €48,000 plus order for €2,000 expenses was imposed on Cork County Council.

Inspector Gerard McSweeney said the fatal accident happened on November 23, 2012 at Carr’s Hill, Cork, where trees were being felled at the council’s pumping station. The contractor had been given a chainsaw but not a winch and ropes which would have made tree-felling safer in terms of controlling the direction in which a tree would fall, Mr McSweeney said.

On the day of the accident the tree fell backwards when another man was felling it and it hit a pole which was knocked over and the late Mr O’Donovan was standing 11ft away and was struck on the head by the pole.

Mr McSweeney said the council had provided the employees with a one-day training course on the use of a chainsaw.

Tom Creed, defending, said there was no accepted national certification at the time but since then the council had tree-felling conducted by competent tree surgeon contractors who would carry out this kind of work every day.

Mr Creed said that on the day of the accident the other employee, who had cut down hundreds of trees before, was using a JCB to push the trees. “Even the equipment he was given he did not use it,” said Mr Creed.

John Walsh, head of personnel at Cork County Council, said the local authority held regular health and safety seminars and provided training to many staff in co-operation with the Health and Safety Authority.

Judge Ó Donnabháin said the change of attitude in relation to tree-felling and the methodology now in place was a significant mitigating factor.

The count to which the local authority pleaded guilty under the Safety, Health, and Welfare at Work Act was to a charge of failing to manage and conduct work activity, namely the felling of trees using a chainsaw, in such a way as to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare at work of your employees by failing to provide adequate appropriate equipment.

Donal McCarthy, prosecuting, said the DPP accepted the plea of guilty to that charge rather than other charges which referred directly to the death of Mr O’Donovan.

Judge Ó Donnabháin said, “I have to be careful, I cannot bind the council with the consequence because the council is pleading to failing to provide appropriate equipment.”