Vigilance urged in bid to curb farm fatalities

Rural people are being urged to be extra vigilant on roads and farms during the busy summer period.

Minister Simon Coveney issued the appeal at the launch of a series of children’s books written by Alma Jordan, a farmer’s wife from Co Meath.

She is founder of AgriKids, an initiative designed to promote the positives of rural life, while educating children on the hazards that exist in farmyards and the countryside.

Minister Coveney said tractors and machinery have been responsible for almost half of all farm deaths and three-quarters of children’s farm deaths in the past 10 years.

“It is crucial our rural communities are keenly aware of the potential for accidents in this busy farming period,” he said.

Ireland rugby star and farmer Seán O’Brien has also urged farmers everywhere to stay vigilant and safe in a determined effort to tackle farm fatalities, injuries and accidents. He was speaking yesterday as he joined the FBD Champions for Change national farm safety initiative.

The programme is targeting an immediate reduction in farm-related deaths. Thirty people – including five children – died in the farming sector last year.