Seanad Public Consultation Committee hears from farming groups on the issue of farm safety

23rd March 2015

Various stakeholder groups, as well as individuals, appeared before the Committee and made presentations on the issue of farm safety.

Committee members were keen to establish how further fatalities and injuries on Irish farms can be prevented. Education and the provision of ongoing training for farmers and their families emerged as one of the key themes referred to by numerous speakers.

While acknowledging the good work done to date by many farming organisations, as well as the positive uptake on the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Safety Grant (which provides funding to farmers to upgrade the standard of safety on their farms), Committee members expressed concern about the very high level of risk which prevails in the farming community.

Members expressed concern about the young age at which many children from farming families gain access to machinery and to vehicles such as tractors. Many also raised the issue of the dangers present in dealing with livestock, particularly bulls and calving cows.

Seanad Leas-Chathaoirleach and Committee Chairman, Senator Denis O’Donovan says: “Today’s meeting of the Seanad Public Consultation Committee was an extremely worthwhile one and one which raised many issues of serious concern surrounding the issue of farm safety. Not only did the Committee discuss concerns around the use of machinery; the storage of slurry on farms; tending to livestock and road accidents, but we also discussed some of the other matters impacting farmers, including financial pressures and mental health issues, a key issue arising was that farmers themselves need to be central to bringing about the changes that will improve farm safety. Farmers need to be encouraged to do this.”

“Today’s meeting will contribute towards a Rapporteur Report, which will be authored by Senator Martin Conway, and will centre on raising standards in farm safety, as well as raising awareness of the issue. Central to today’s meeting was the participation of wider society in helping the Committee to formulate its report on farm safety. I would like to thank the wide range of organisations and individuals who took part in this process. The Seanad Public Consultation Committee will now begin to draft its report on farm safety. Accidents and fatalities on farms can plunge families and communities into turmoil; it is the Committee’s intention to contribute towards minimizing these occurrences, as well as aiding the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in making the best supports possible available to the wider farming community.”

The Seanad Public Consultation Committee (SPCC) was founded in September 2011 to strengthen dialogue between Seanad Éireann and the public on a wide range of subjects in the area of public policy.