Smurfit News Press Ltd has been fined €1 million for health and safety breaches linked to accidents in the workplace in which one worker lost a leg and another had skin ripped off his hand, writes Carl O'Brien
Judge Raymond Groarke imposed the record fine at Trim Circuit Criminal Court yesterday. The accidents took place in 2002 just two weeks apart in almost identical circumstances at its printing plant in Kells, Co Meath.
He said the company had shown a "cavalier" attitude towards safety and had placed the pursuit of profit ahead of workers' safety.
In the first accident in April 2002, an employee's leg became trapped in the roller of a printing press. His limb was amputated. In the second, a worker's hand became trapped between the rollers when he was clearing out a paper break. He had skin graft treatment.
Judge Groarke said the second accident should not have happened if the first incident had been taken seriously at the time.
Smurfit News Press Ltd, which prints a number of newspaper titles including the Irish editions of the Sun, the London-based Times, News of the World and the Sunday Times, is a subsidiary of the Jefferson Smurfit Group.
The firm pleaded guilty to six of the eight charges relating to health and safety breaches, three of which were linked to each accident.
A group spokesman said the two accidents were "greatly regretted".
"Health and safety are priority issues in all our plants around the world and, while we cannot undo the damage done in these cases, we can assure all our employees, customers and the general public that we will take every possible action to ensure such accidents do not happen in the future," the spokesman said. He said the men had returned to work at the plant. One has since been promoted. The chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority, Mr Tom Beegan, welcomed the ruling.
"This is the largest ever fine for health and safety offences and a milestone for the protection of people at work. It reflects the growing seriousness with which the courts are dealing with these cases and with those who flout the law by exposing workers to unnecessary risks," he said.
The Minister of State with responsibility for Labour Affairs, Mr Tony Killeen, said new legislation would provide for fines of up to €3 million or two years imprisonment, or both, for health and safety breaches.
The previous highest fine, also issued by Judge Groarke, was recorded in November 2001 when a contractor received a €300,000 fine and another received an 18-month suspended prison sentence following the deaths of two workers.