Eight-fold increase in fine for Kilsaran Concrete

Penalty increased from €125,000 to €1 million for breach of H&S legislation leading to death of employee

KILSARAN Concrete, manufacturers of concrete products based in Dunboyne, Co. Meath, Ireland, have 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 Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the leniency of the original fine.

The case originally arose when an employee of Kilsaran Concrete, Barry Gargan, was fatally injured on 6 September 2011 while working on a wet-cast manufacturing unit. 

Brian Higgisson, assistant chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), 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.’