A construction company which was fined €200,000 last week for breaches of the health and safety regulations has taken High Court proceedings to stop a Circuit Court judge from making further comments about the case.
O'Flynn Construction Company Limited, Ovens, Co Cork, pleaded guilty last week at Cork Circuit Court to breaches of the health and safety regulations at a construction site at Rochestown, Co Cork, known as "Mount Oval Village" site.
A nine-year-old school boy, Stephen Long, died on September 9th, 2001, when a barrel of wood preservative on the site exploded, leaving the child with extensive burns from which he later died.
Last Thursday, when the case came before Judge Patrick Moran, he imposed a €200,000 fine on the company. At the High Court yesterday, Mr Peter Finlay SC, for the company, applied for and secured leave from Mr Justice Ó Caoimh to take judicial review proceedings in which the company wants an order preventing Judge Moran from making further comments on the case.
Mr Michael O'Flynn, managing director of the company, said in an affidavit that the company believed that Judge Moran intended to further punish the company and its director, Mr Michael Kelleher.
At the close of the trial, his company had asked Judge Moran to certify the case for appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal against the severity of the fine. Judge Moran had refused. Mr O'Flynn said he was told his solicitor had received a phone call from a barrister informing him that Judge Moran had told the Circuit Court hearing on February 21st that the judge wished to re-enter the case on the basis "that something had come to his attention which was concerning him very much" and that the judge was anxious that Mr Kelleher, who had given evidence for the company, be in court when the matter was re-entered. Judge Moran had relisted the matter for yesterday.
Mr O'Flynn said the matter was mentioned to Judge Moran yesterday morning and the judge directed that the matter be re-entered for today. Mr O'Flynn said he was advised Judge Moran was in fundamental error in principle in giving no credit to the company's guilty plea or to the extensive and substantial mitigating factors given in evidence.