Waterways Ireland prosecuted after homeless man paralysed by digger clearing tents on Dublin’s Grand Canal

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 and Safety Authority investigation, a file was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecution, who authorised charges against Waterways Ireland and an employee, Jennifer Blackford, of Oldcourt Lawn, Firhouse, Dublin 24.

The offences are under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, and include allegations of failures to check if Mr Adane’s tent was occupied when it was removed “by means of a mechanical grab”.

The prosecution 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 charges involve alleged offences on January 14 at the canal bank at Leeson Street Bridge, Dublin 2.

Waterways Ireland is based at Sligo Road, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, The all-Ireland body is responsible for managing, maintaining, developing, and restoring inland navigable waterways primarily for recreational purposes.

It has two charges.

The first claims it 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.

Staff member Ms Blackford faces a single charge that she failed to discharge a duty under the health and safety laws. The charge alleges she did not “take reasonable care to protect the safety, health and welfare of persons who may be affected by your acts or omissions at work, in particular by giving instructions for the lifting of a tent by means of a mechanical grab without ensuring that the tent was unoccupied”.

There has yet to be an indication of how they intend to plead.