Waterways Ireland is facing criminal proceedings after a homeless man from Eritrea was paralysed while a mechanical digger was clearing his tent from the banks of the Grand Canal in Dublin.
Elias Adane, aged in his 30s, suffered life-changing injuries on January 14th, 2020, along a portion of the canal where other homeless people had pitched tents. They had earlier been served with eviction notices.
Mr Adane, who came to Ireland as an unaccompanied minor and has experienced lengthy periods of homelessness, had been sleeping in a tent at Wilton Terrace, near Leeson Street Bridge, for months.
After being injured, he spent weeks in St Vincent's Hospital before moving to the National Rehabilitation Hospital until new accommodation was arranged.
Following a Health & Safety Authority (HSA) investigation, a file was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions, which authorised charges against Waterways Ireland and an employee, Jennifer Blackford, of Oldcourt Lawn, Firhouse, Dublin 24.
Waterways Ireland, based at Sligo Road, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, is the all-Ireland body responsible for managing, maintaining, developing, and restoring inland navigable waterways primarily for recreational purposes.
The offences are under the Safety, Health, and Welfare at Work Act 2005, and included allegations of failure to check if Mr. Adane’s tent was occupied when it was removed “by means of a mechanical grab”.
The case had its first listing before Judge Anthony Halpin at Dublin District Court on Monday.
He acceded to a State solicitor's request that the proceedings continue on Tuesday when evidence is to be served on the defendants.
The two charges against Waterways Ireland involve alleged offences on January 14th at the canal bank at Leeson Street Bridge, Dublin 2.
The first charge claims Waterways Ireland failed to ensure "people were not exposed to risks to their safety, health or welfare", or that "there was an adequate system of work in place in respect of lifting a tent by means of a mechanical grab, which included ensuring that the tent was unoccupied prior to removal".
The second charge claims Elias Adane suffered personal injury due to those failures.
Ms Blackford faces a single charge that she failed to discharge a duty under the health and safety laws.
Both Waterways Ireland and Ms Blackford have yet to indicate their pleas.
By Tom Tuite
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