Guilty plea by firms to safety breaches that led to workers’ deaths

Two companies have pleaded guilty before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court to breaching safety laws which led to the deaths of two stonemasons who drowned while carrying out work on a bridge in Limerick six years ago.

Father-of-two Tim TJ O'Herlihy (36) from Castleisland, Co Kerry, died alongside his workmate, Bryan Whelan (29) from O'Briensbridge, Co Clare, after they became trapped beneath the surface of the river Shannon in Limerick city on August 29th, 2015.

The men were working from a cage-like platform suspended over the side of Thomond Bridge and held by a wire attached to a winch-crane, when the platform plunged into the river.

O’Herlihy and Whelan, who were both wearing life jackets, were also harnessed into the cage. They were unable to escape from the structure and died beneath water.

Paul Murphy was working alongside the men on the platform but managed to escape and was later pulled from the water.

Following investigations by gardaí­ as well as the Health and Safety Authority, criminal charges were brought against Nationwide Crane Hire Ltd of Dock Road, Limerick, and Palfinger Ireland Ltd, of Church Hill, Cloncollog, Tullamore, Co Offaly.

Representatives from both companies on Monday pleaded guilty on behalf of the firms to breaching the Health, Welfare and Safety at Work Act, 1989 and 2005, which led to the deaths.

The court heard that Palfinger supplied the crane, fitted with a winch, to Nationwide Crane Hire Ltd (formerly known as Cussen and Co Crane Hire Limited), at its premises at Dock Road, Limerick, on March 12th 2003.

Luke Carbery, a director of Palfinger Ireland Ltd, on behalf of the company, pleaded guilty that Palfinger failed to take steps that were necessary to ensure that Nationwide Crane Hire Ltd was provided with adequate information about the use for which the crane and winch had been designed or tested, and about conditions relating to the crane and winch so as to ensure that, when in use, it would be safe and without risk to health, and that it failed to provide any or any adequate information about the carrying out of a functional test of the winch crane’s safety overload protection systems.

Risks to safety

Nationwide Crane Hire Ltd, through company representative Brendan Rainsford, pleaded guilty to a charge that on August 29th, 2015, at Thomond Bridge, Limerick, it, being an employer, failed to ensure as reasonably practicable, that contracted workers were not exposed to risks to their safety, health and welfare.

Nationwide admitted it failed to ensure the winch crane which was mounted on a lorry, provided and operated by Nationwide for the purpose of lifting people in a man basket over the river Shannon to carry out work on Thomond Bridge on the day, was in a safe condition. And, in particular, that the overload protection safety device on the winch of the crane was defective and did not operate to protect the wire rope on the winch from being overloaded, thus being in breach of section 12 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, “and as a consequence TJ O’Herlihy and Bryan Whelan suffered personal injury and died”.

Prosecuting SC Shane Costelloe described it as a “tragic incident where two men lost their lives and a third was swept out along the river Shannon to the ocean before being rescued”.

Mr Costelloe said the sentencing hearing will take a number of hours. He also said the State would be producing the crane as an exhibit.

Judge Tom O’Donnell, presiding, said he will “inspect the crane” before passing sentence.

Sentencing takes place in Limerick on July 27th.