Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I will be brief but I will return to this issue on another occasion. I compliment the Minister of State on all of the initiatives he suggested and all the activities he outlined in a comprehensive reply. However, why did he choose, with his colleagues, not to accept one of the main recommendations of the Law Reform Commission, namely, to legislate for the crime of corporate manslaughter? Construction employers and their sub-contractors should be faced with the prospect of a crime of corporate manslaughter, which was recommended by the Law Reform Commission, which is not noted for its radical or off-the-top-of-the-head proposals, yet it was explicitly rejected by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Until we get the kind of specific instruments that will wave not just a carrot, which is what is proposed, but also a stick, we will not achieve a reduction in the number of fatalities occurring in the industry at present.

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