Railway Safety Act 2005

Dangerous working on railway.

111.—(1) A safety critical worker shall not perform a safety critical task in a manner which, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, is dangerous to the safety of persons or poses an unreasonable risk of harm to persons.

(2) A person, being a supervisor, manager, director or secretary of a railway undertaking, shall not instruct a safety critical worker to perform a safety critical task in a manner that may cause that worker to contravene subsection (1).

(3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) is guilty of an offence and is liable—

(a) on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to both, or

(b) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to both.

(4) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (3), it shall be a defence for the person against whom such proceedings are brought to prove that the safety critical task—

(a) in respect of a contravention of subsection (1), was performed, or

(b) in respect of a contravention of subsection (2), was instructed to be performed,

in accordance with written rules or procedures of the railway undertaking concerned, where those rules or procedures specify the manner in which that task should be performed.

(5) Where, when a person is tried on indictment or summarily for an offence under this section, the jury, or, in the case of a summary trial the District Court, is of the opinion that he or she was not guilty of an offence under this section but was guilty of an offence under section 110 , the jury or court may find him or her guilty of an offence under section 110 and he or she may be sentenced accordingly.

(6) Where a member of the Garda Síochána is of the opinion that a person has committed an offence under this section causing loss of life or serious personal injury to another person, the member may arrest the person without warrant.