Firm faces prosecution over collapse of 12-tonne staircase at school

A 12-tonne concrete staircase collapsed under its own weight at a newly built Dublin secondary school, a court heard yesterday.

Galway firm Oran Pre-cast Ltd is facing a charge under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act after a staircase they designed fell down.

It had been installed at Phibblestown post-primary, in Dublin 15, but collapsed in October 2010, just weeks before the school opened. Mark Madigan, an inspector with the Health and Safety Authority, told Judge John O'Neill at Dublin District Court the pre-cast concrete stairway was in situ when it collapsed.

“A couple of people were walking on it and a couple of seconds after they got off, the stairs buckled in the middle and fell down, and took a second stairs under it as well,” the HSA inspector alleged. Nobody was injured.

The pre-cast concrete stairs was inspected by a technician and not a qualified engineer, the judge also heard. After hearing a summary of the evidence, Judge O'Neill refused jurisdiction, meaning the company will face trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.