The IFA and the Road Safety Authority are urging road users to take extra care in the summer months due to the seasonal increase in the number of tractors, trailers and other farm machinery on the roads.

An updated version of the Farm Safety Code of Practice has been published by the Health and Safety Authority to help prevent future injury and occupational ill health in agriculture.

Farmers routinely fail to get help with difficult jobs, can be lax at using safety gear and don’t always check machinery is in good working order before use.

The number of farm deaths rose last year, despite a reduction in the overall number of people killed in workplaces in 2016.

Farmers are eight times more likely than those in the general labour force to die in a workplace accident, according to the Health and Safety Authority.

A total of 56 people were killed in workplace accidents reported to the Health and Safety Authority last year, according to new reports.

The number of people fatally injured in workplace accidents has risen sharply since 2013. New statistics show 56 were killed at their place of work in 2014 compared to 47 the year before.

Primary schools have been urged to take 30 minutes before the summer break to join in a national effort to prevent children from being seriously injured or dying on a farm this summer.

People employed in farming, fisheries or forestry are 24 times more likely to die in work-related accidents than those in service industries, a new study shows.

The 56 workplace deaths last year and 10 more so far this year is clear evidence large numbers of workers are continuing to expose themselves to potentially fatal, but mostly avoidable, hazards in their jobs, Business Minister Ged Nash has claimed.

The Health and Safety Authority fears another spike in farm deaths because of the scrapping of milk quotas.

Stories of fishing fatalities and the impact they have on loved ones left behind form part of a new children’s book that seeks to raise awareness of the dangers faced by those working on boats.

Meath GAA chiefs have jumped to the defence of referee Cormac Reilly following criticism of his handling of Saturday’s semi-final replay between Kerry and Mayo.

An accident resulting in the death of a 59-year-old man while erecting shuttering on his farm earlier this year, was not preventable or foreseeable, a Coroner’s Court heard yesterday.

The Health and Safety Authority has said there is a need to consider zero tolerance of children in some situations on farms.

Concerns have been raised at the fall in the number of health and safety inspectors tasked with inspecting workplaces at a time when the number of people in work is rapidly increasing.

An energy developer has Meath GAA onboard for its project, but local people are not so receptive to the plan, writes Special Correspondent Michael Clifford.

Fishermen are almost 40 times more likely to be killed at work compared to the average worker.

Cork had the highest number of workplace fatalities last year, with 12 deaths.

Health and safety chiefs have again pressed farmers to improve safety on their lands after agriculture accounted for almost a third of all work-related deaths last year.

A joint campaign by the Health and Safety Authority and the Irish Farmers’ Association is urging farmers to plan their work to reduce risks.

Farm deaths accounted for almost half of all workplace fatalities last year, figures show.

The Health and Safety Authority was forced to take enforcement action in almost 1,000 of the workplaces it inspected last year, its annual report shows.

THE number of people who died in workplace incidents increased by 15% last year, with farming again proving to be the most dangerous profession.

FORMER Meath senior football boss Eamonn Barry was prevented from running for the position of coaching officer at the annual convention in Navan on Saturday.

THE deaths of 17 people on Irish farms this year was described as a matter of serious concern by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney.

ADVICE on handling bulls, electricity, machinery and pesticides are among the 26 short tips in Teagasc’s new A-to-Z farm safety poster.

ON a day that farmers were warned of the need for increased care in and around farms, the rural community lost another life following a tragic accident in West Cork.

AN online tool designed to enhance farm safety and reduce risk has attracted hundreds of hits since it was piloted in March.

THERE was a 25% reduction in the number of workplace deaths in 2009, according to the Health and Safety Authority’s latest annual report.

COMPANY bosses have been told health and safety is a sound investment as workplace accidents cost the economy €3 billion a year.

Company bosses were today warned the health and safety of workers is an investment in the future.

Up to 75 workers are killed every year while driving a vehicle for their company, it was revealed today.

The Army was tonight ordered to prepare to clear the country’s main roads as Taoiseach Brian Cowen admitted grit supplies were running out.

Travellers were facing more misery today after severe ice left roads in many areas virtually impassable and the continuing cold snap also affected air schedules.

IT WAS a tough summer for the farming community, President Mary McAleese acknowledged yesterday when she officially opened the ploughing championships in Athy, Co Kildare.