Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 38: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the Government intends to act on the advice of the National Irish Safety Organisation to introduce an offence of corporate manslaughter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31914/06]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Section 80 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 provides for individual responsibility by directors, managers or other similar officers of an undertaking. It provides that they be held responsible before the courts for any act that may constitute an offence under the 2005 Act or other relevant statutory provisions which may be attributable to connivance or neglect or was authorised or consented to by them. This statutory provision meets the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission on corporate killing in so far as occupational safety, health and welfare is concerned.

However, in so far as the recommendations of the Commission refer to the wider area than occupational safety, health and welfare, this matter was referred to the Office of the Attorney General at the time of the drafting of the Bill which was enacted as the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005. The Attorney General was of the opinion that there were much broader issues then safety, health and welfare at work relating to the overall criminal justice system which needed to be considered, as legislating in the relatively confined area of occupational safety and health would omit other sectors where such an offence could be committed. Therefore it was decided that it was not appropriate to deal with the wider issue of corporate killing in legislation which was providing for the law and regulation of occupational safety, health and welfare.

The Law Reform Commission accepted the Attorney General's office view that the scope of the 2005 Act was narrower than the proposed offence recommended by it in its report.

The matter of consideration of the wider effect of the recommendations in the report of the Law Reform Commission is one for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in the context of his main responsibilities for the criminal law system.