A new offence of Corporate Manslaughter is to be proposed by the Labour Party in response to the high number of work-related deaths.
Spokesperson for Trade and Employment, Mr Pat Rabbitte will table a Private Members Bill in the Dáil when it resumes next month.
"It is clearly too soon to form any judgements in relation to the ISPAT fatality", Mr Rabbitte said.
"The latest death of a man in a fire at the ISPAT plant in Cobh highlights once again our serious death-rate in industrial accidents", he said. Last year 64 people died following accidents at work.
Mr Rabbitte made particular reference to the number of deaths on building sites last year – 26, and cited a Health and Safety Standards Authority survey indicating that one in ten building sites would fail safety inspections. The number of deaths on building sites has risen from 13 in 1995, according to HSA figures.
"Voluntary codes of conduct and the existing health and safety legislation have not been sufficient to ensure acceptable standards, especially in the construction industry," said Mr Rabbitte.
"I believe it is only when senior executives face the prospect of jail for negligence that acceptable safety standards will be reached," he added.