Farmers urged to put safety first, as the fifth Farm Safety Week begins

The fifth Farm Safety Week, which is being run in Ireland by the Irish Farmers Association, began yesterday with an appeal from Agriculture Minister Michael Creed for continued awareness by all involved in the industry.

He said the initiative, along with others such as the recent HSA Farm Safety campaign, which focused on the safe use of tractors and machinery, are very important for increasing awareness of the unacceptable level of farm accidents that occur every year.

#farmsafetyweek starts today! Full details of the events taking place this week are available on https://t.co/EwavSuCMxf. In the clip below, our Farm Family Chair @CFarrellIFA & our Health & Safety Exec @WilliamShortal4 explain why farm safety is so important @teagasc @TheHSA pic.twitter.com/YttQAfoxUT

— Irish Farmers' Association (@IFAmedia) July 15, 2019

“It is important to remember that farms are both work places and family homes and that the whole family is alert to the risks that exist. Great care is required to ensure that tragic accidents do not occur.

“One of the first steps in helping to achieve a safe farm is for farmers to adhere to the Farm Safety Code of practice and to review their Farm Risk Assessment,” he said.

Mr Creed said while there are many risks in farming, it does not have to be a dangerous occupation. Behavioural change is what is required to prevent many accidents.

It is a case of being aware of the dangers and taking the time to do what is necessary to minimise the risk.

“There are plenty of ways to reduce the danger, without spending huge money. The first of these is to complete a Farm Risk Assessment,” he said.

So far this year, there have been 12 fatal accidents on farms.

These account for over 40% of all fatal work accidents so far in 2019.

Yet, farming accounts for less than 6% of the workforce.