€1,000,000 fine for Dunboyne firm over workplace fatality

Kilsaran Concrete, a manufacturer of concrete products based in Dunboyne, has had a fine of €125,000 quashed and a new fine of €1,000,000 imposed by the Court of Appeal (Criminal) in the Criminal Court of Justice, after the DPP appealed the leniency of the original fine.

The case originally arose when an employee of Kilsaran Concrete, Barry Gargan, was fatally injured on 6th September 2011 when he was working on the wet cast manufacturing unit. Due to the danger of the automated moving equipment, the unit was surrounded by a safety cage.

Mr Gargan was instructed to work inside this safety cage which was then closed allowing the process to be started. Mr Gargan was fatally injured when a hydraulic arm pinned him against a vibrating table.

Brian Higgisson, Assistant Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority said: “A fine of this size sends a clear signal that the safety, health and welfare of workers is of paramount importance and cannot be disregarded. This accident was caused by a deliberate breach of safety procedures and should not have happened.”