Quinn Piling Ltd fined €25,000 following fatal incident in Rossaveel Harbour

4th November 2021

Today, 4th November 2021, in Galway Circuit Criminal Court, Quinn Piling Ltd pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 8(2)(a) contrary to Section 79(9)(a) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and was fined a total of €25,000 plus costs of €8,900 before Judge McCabe. 

The case arose following a fatal incident on 29th January 2017 on a construction site located in Rossaveel Harbour, Co. Galway, as a result of which an employee of Quinn Piling Ltd lost his life. 

The incident occurred while Quinn Piling Ltd was in the process of installing metal piles as part of the construction of a small boat marina in Rossaveal Harbour. Quinn Piling Ltd failed to provide a safe system of work in relation to the provision and control of the compressed air hose at the piling rig and construction works site. 

In the process of installing the metal piles, compressed air unexpectedly released from the supply pipeline causing a component to suddenly come free striking and causing serious injury to an employee who was air lifted to University Hospital Galway where he was pronounced dead later that day. 

Commenting on the case, Mark Cullen, Assistant Chief Executive with the Health and Safety Authority, said, “It is vital that duty holders ensure that all work activities are conducted in a safe manner and that appropriate safe systems of work are in place to protect their employees. Furthermore, such measures should be specified in the company safety statement. The lack of appropriate measures that contributed to this incident led to particularly tragic consequences”.

ENDS