Every building site in the State should be inspected at once by the Health and Safety Authority and, if necessary, legislation should be enacted to ensure all sites have a proper safety policy in place, a Galway coroner recommended yesterday.
Dr Ciaran McLoughlin was speaking at an inquest into the death of a Galway schoolboy who died while working as a night watchman for a security firm on a building site in Galway city last November.
A verdict of accidental death by carbon monoxide poisoning was returned by the jury after they heard that a Leaving Certificate student, Liam Tyrrell (18), of Palmyra Avenue, Galway, accidentally died when he was overcome by carbon monoxide fumes from a generator which was being used to provide heat and light in an unfinished house on a building site in the east of the city.
The jury also recommended that from now on a clear, indelible warning sign should be put on generators, stating that the machine could only be used outside and that its incorrect use could be fatal; that proper facilities, such as light, heat, phone and toilet facilities be provided on building sites, along with basic first aid equipment; that regular communication be provided between security employees on sites and their head office; and finally, that basic health and safety training be provided for employees by all security firms.
The inquest heard that the deceased was hired the day before his death by Mr Billy Cleary, the owner of K9 Security, in Galway. Mr Cleary said he picked the youth up at midnight on November 21st last year and took him to the house on the building site at Gleann na Tra, Galway. He admitted at the inquest that he did not know the surname of the deceased or his address and it was also learned he did not have public liability insurance for his company.
Under cross-examination by Mr Paul McGettigan, for the Tyrrell family, Mr Cleary said he normally had the generator in the house to provide electricity and heat for the security men as it was "freezing" at that time of the year.
He said the generator had been in use in the house for a few months, and there had never been a problem with it. He said it was usually kept stored in a locked container on site, and the contractor had given him access to it. He said that the contractor, Inchogoill Contractors Ltd, knew the generator was being used inside the house.
He added that he had never been asked if he had public liability insurance, until after Mr Tyrrell's death.
A Russian youth, who also worked as a security guard for K9, discovered Mr Tyrrell's body at 10 a.m. on November 21st.
Mr Malcolm Little, a pathologist, who carried out a post-mortem, said the pink colour of the deceased indicated death by carbon monoxide poisoning. There were lethal levels of the gas in the blood, he said, and there were no other marks on the otherwise healthy body.
"It is up to the jury to make recommendations to the Health and Safety Authority that people work, not only in safety, but also in comfort," the coroner said.
He then added his own recommendations to the jury's verdict, saying that the Health and Safety Authority should visit all building sites to ensure the safety of all employees and, if necessary, recommend legislation that all building sites must have a safety statement in place.