Zoe Developments, the company which had prohibition notices placed on one of its sites in Dublin this week after a worker was killed, issued a statement last night defending its safety policy.
The company said it was working "urgently and comprehensively" with its safety consultants on "the items listed in two prohibition notices served by the Health and Safety Authority" this week. It said the site would not reopen until it had been vetted and approved by the safety consultants.
The accident in which Mr James Masterson, a 24-year-old Mayo man, was killed occurred last Monday. The company said it had closed the site that evening. The prohibition order was not received until Thursday. It was company policy to comply with the Health, Safety and Welfare at Work legislation, the statement said, as well as "to ensure the safety, health and welfare of all employees whilst at work".
It was also policy to consult staff and employees on health and safety matters. Employees were encouraged, in compliance with their duties under the legislation, "to notify the company management of identified hazards in the workplace.
"By its nature construction activity constantly alters the working environment," the statement said. "As with all construction companies, Zoe Developments Ltd places a reliance on all an individual's care and diligence while at work, whilst ensuring adequate safety systems are in place at the workplace."
It was company practice over a number of years to employ the services of reputable safety consultants. These regularly inspected the sites in the company of a site manager or foreman and prepared written safety and welfare audits. Any highlighted item was acted upon by site management.
The company statement concluded by saying that the man who died was a foreman of one of Zoe's subcontractors. He was "well known and very highly regarded by the management of Zoe Developments Ltd. We sympathise with his family and colleagues."
A spokeswoman for the company said it would be making no further comments at this stage.
Mr Masterson is the third worker to die on Zoe sites in Dublin since 1991. The company has been successfully prosecuted by the Health and Safety Authority on 12 occasions, and two further prosecutions are pending.
The Dublin building trade union group has called for a stoppage at all Zoe sites in the city on Monday in protest at safety conditions.
A SIPTU official, Mr Eric Fleming, secretary of the group, said the company was the worst offender in Dublin against the construction industry's safety regulations. He said it now seemed the company was trying to shift the blame for its shortcomings on to the workforce.