Fines which can be imposed on companies for breaching health and safety legislation in the workplace are to be increased.
The changes, which are an attempt to curb the number of accidents causing death and injury at work, were announced yesterday as new figures published by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) showed 64 people in the State died in workplace accidents last year.
Most fatal accidents occurred in the agriculture and construction industries.
The Minister for Labour Affairs, Mr Tom Kitt, said there had been much public concern about the perceived inadequacy of fines for breaches of occupational health and safety legislation.
"Not alone do low fines on conviction make it difficult to deter future breaches of health and safety legislation, but also from a human perspective can cause enormous hurt to a family who have suffered the loss of a loved one in a workplace accident," he said.
He said he had received Cabinet approval to draft a Bill to amend the 1989 Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, and has proposed fines be increased up to €300,000 in both the District and Circuit Courts.
The maximum fine in the District Court up to now was £1,500 (€1,904) per offence and the highest fine imposed to date in the Circuit Court was one for £100,000 (€126,973) imposed last year. On-the-spot fines are also proposed.
Mr Kitt said he was confident the amended legislation would be passed regardless of who was in government after the election.
The director general of the HSA, Mr Tom Beegan, said 1.15 million work days were lost due to death and injury in the workplace in 2000. This was more than 10 times the number of days lost due to industrial disputes and had cost industry more than €2 billion.
Mr Beegan said if the same number of days were lost through strikes as those through workplace accidents there would be a national forum on the issue.
He also revealed that there had been preliminary discussions with the insurance industry on ways of ensuring that companies with a good safety record weren't unduly penalised in their premiums for accidents in companies which breached safety standards.
He was speaking at the launch of the HSA annual report, which showed most fatal workplace accidents - 24 out of a total of 64 - took place in the agriculture sector last year, an increase of eight on the previous year.
Some 17 adults and seven children lost their lives on farms last year, with causes varying from falling into slurry tanks, being crushed by tractors and being attacked by bulls.
A further 18 lives, including 14 adults and four children, were lost in the construction industry.
The industry claimed the same number of lives the previous year. Most deaths were as a result of falls from a height.
A further five deaths occurred in both the quarrying and transport industries, and three were recorded in the manufacturing sector.
While deaths at work decreased to 64 in 2001 from 70 the previous year, Mr Beegan stressed that each death was one too many.
He added that a special action plan was being devised to tackle the "stubborn" agriculture sector, where some farmers who were doubling as childminders were taking safety risks.
The number of farm inspections by HSA inspectors dropped last year due to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease but they will be stepped up again this year, he added.
The report also showed the total number of convictions recorded last year increased to 80 from 49 in 2000.
One company, PJ Doherty (Derry) Ltd, was fined just £250 following a workplace fatality in Dublin.
Among other companies convicted and fined were the ESB, Dublin Corporation, Sean Quinn Group Ltd, Mayo County Council and Irish Sugar plc.