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15
June 2007 - Immediate Release
Family hope for vital answers at worker death
inquest in Northern Ireland
The two sisters of a man killed at a packaging factory
in Lurgan eight years ago hope that they will find
out why their brother died and why there was no prosecution
taken by the Northern Ireland HSE at the inquest into
his death which starts this week.
Robert Doyle, a fitter at Smurfit Plant in Lurgan,
was crushed to death on 16th June 1999 when a fork-lift
truck lurched forward as he assisted in a operation
to change a roller on a piece of printing machinery.
The inquest will begin at Armagh Courthouse on Monday
18th June 2007, and is expected to last a week.
Mr Doyle was one of over a hundred employees killed
in the workplace in Northern Ireland over the last
eight years. Between 1999 and 2006, 106 people were
killed at work in Northern Ireland (HSENI Annual Reports
show).
Robert’s sister Ann Doyle said:
"It
has been a long hard road. We have exhausted every
other means at our disposal, including discussions
with representatives from the four main political
parties, to get even the basic facts of our brother’s
death. We have never understood why the Health and
Safety Executive of Northern Ireland did not prosecute
Smurfit following our brother’s death and
hope that this inquest will allow us, finally, to
understand what actually happened that day and the
consequences of it”.
Yvonne
Doran, sister of Robert, said:
“It’s
the last thing on your mind at night and the first
thing most mornings. When we see that someone else
has been killed at work, the pain felt by that bereaved
family is ours. This nightmare will continue while
companies go unprosecuted following worker deaths”.
Robert’s
family will be represented at inquest by Gerry Hyland
of Madden & Finucane Solicitors. Yvonne Doran
and Ann Doyle have also been assisted by the Work
Related Death Advice Service, run by the Centre for
Corporate Accountability.
The
family will comment through their lawyer Gerry Hyland
at the end of the inquest.
The
Centre for Corporate Accountability is a human
rights charity advising those bereaved from work-related
deaths, and working on issues of safety, law enforcement
and corporate accountability.
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