6,300 Farm Safety Scheme applications received by the Department of Agriculture

A total of 6,299 applications were received by the Department of Agriculture under the Farm Safety Scheme, which was introduced in October with a €12.2m budget.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney told Galway West TD Sean Kyne in reply to a Dáil question last week that 4,618 applications had been approved, with an average of four items per approval.

The most common items approved to date are head-scoops to prevent cattle from moving their heads while in a crush, and yard lights. These two items are included in 46% and 43% of approvals.

Of the remaining applications, over 800 are ineligible and the others are being processed as quickly as possible, allowing for issues that have been queried with farmers.

All work must be completed and a payment claim lodged with the department by August 2015, he said.

Mr Coveney said farm safety is one of the most important issues facing farming today.

Statistics show that accidents on farms cause more workplace deaths than all other occupations combined. Last year was a particularly difficult year, with 30 deaths on farms, and already this year there have been eight fatalities.