A local recycling company has been fined €75,000 in relation to a fatal incident in 2019.
The 2019 incident occurred when an employee of Shabra Recycling was sweeping near recently stacked bales of waste plastic film.
At today's sitting of Cavan Circuit Criminal Court, Judge John Aylmer imposed the €75,000 fine on Shabra Recycling.
It follows a fatal incident on the 16th of October, 2019, at Killycard Industrial Estate, Bree, Castleblaney, Co Monaghan, when an employee of Shabra Recycling was sweeping near recently stacked bales of waste plastic film.
The bales, weighing between 360kg to 520kg, collapsed on him without warning, which led to fatal injuries.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, by failing to provide a system of work that was that was "planned, organised, performed, maintained and without risk" when stacking bales of plastic waste material and carrying out cleaning work in the vicinity of the bale shed.
Mark Cullen, Assistant Chief Executive with the Health and Safety Authority, said it is vital that duty holders ensure that all work activities are conducted in a safe manner.
He added that the "circumstances of this tragic incident should be a warning to all employers to ensure that appropriate safe systems of work are in place to protect their employees", and that this should be "communicated clearly to their employees".
