New law may target safety in companies
A new offence of corporate killing may be created to target companies which blatantly disregard the safety of their workers.
Although there have been hundreds of deaths in the workplace in recent years, often due to inadequate safety standards, no company has ever been prosecuted for manslaughter.
A new report by the Law Reform Commission (LRC) will make recommendations today on the best way to tackle the problem.
In its consultation paper two years ago, the LRC recommended that new offence of corporate killing should be introduced so that companies which displayed gross recklessness could be prosecuted in the event of a death of a worker.
There are doubts if a corporation can be legally prosecuted for committing manslaughter under current Irish law.
The LRC’s final report will be launched today at its headquarters in Ballsbridge in Dublin by Enterprise and Employment Minister Micheal Martin.
