Cooney Furlong Limited fined €100,000 following fatal workplace incident

Friday 8th May 2026

Cooney Furlong Limited was today, Friday 8 May 2026, fined a total of €100,000 by Judge Cormac Quinn at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court, following a fatal work-related incident which occurred at Dranagh, Caim, Enniscorthy in County Wexford on the 15^th of March 2021.

An employee was fatally injured when he was struck by a loading shovel as he walked across a yard.

The company earlier pleaded guilty to Section 8(2)(a) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, contrary to Section 77(9)(a) in that it failed in their duty to ensure the provision of appropriate controls and measures in respect of moving vehicles and pedestrians and failed to ensure the segregation of pedestrians from vehicles.

The company also pleaded guilty to Section 19 (1) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, contrary to Section 77(2) in that it failedto undertake a written risk assessment and implement appropriate measures and controls following the provision and use of a large custom made front loading bucket attachment which adversely affected the forward facing visibility of the operative of the loading shovel.

Assistant Chief Executive at the Health and Safety Authority, Eibhlin O'Leary said,

“This tragic incident resulted in the loss of a worker’s life and serves as a stark reminder of the serious dangers posed by moving vehicles in workplaces. Employers have a clear legal duty to identify risks through adequate risk assessment and to ensure that effective control measures are put in place to protect workers, particularly where pedestrians and vehicles operate in the same area. Failure to do so can lead to grave and devastating consequences.”