Farm Safety Week puts focus on saving lives

The fourth annual Farm Safety Week starts today, with the IFA and its partners reminding people that farming kills and injures more people than any other industry in Ireland and the UK.

While farm fatalities were down by 40% in 2015, with 18 deaths reported versus 30 in 2014, four of them child fatalities, the organisers insist that far greater awareness is needed to improve safety on the farm.

The campaign will feature themed messages each day this week, covering subjects such as falls, machinery, livestock, transport and children on farms.