President urges focus on farm safety

PRESIDENT Mary McAleese believes farmers can achieve world-class levels of farm safety to match their world-leading performance in food production.

Mrs McAleese gave this encouraging advice at the launch of the Think Safety, Farm Safely campaign, launched yesterday at the Irish Farmers’ Association headquarters in Dublin.

The advice was timely as the sector was hit by 26 on-farm deaths last year, accounting for more than 50% of all workplace deaths. As well as the fatalities, there were around 1,500 accidents on Irish farms last year.

Mrs McAleese said: “We are rightly proud of our farming tradition and our wonderful farm produce, but there is one statistic we are not proud of, and that is the fact that Irish farms are among the most dangerous places to work in Ireland.

“Today’s campaign is a statement that the IFA intends to reverse those statistics, to save lives and to end the heartache and misery that inevitably result from farm accidents and farm deaths.

“We need farmers to look out for potential dangers, to identify them, to put in place the safety measures needed to ensure the full safety of farmers, their family members, employees, suppliers and all other farm visitors.”

The IFA will promote this campaign to its 87,000 members nationwide. Other farming organisations are also launching safety initiatives, public meetings and advisory workshops which promise to put safety to the top of the agenda for the farming sector during 2011.

IFA president John Bryan said the IFA was honoured that Mrs McAleese launched the campaign. Her interest in the issue would send the strongest possible message to farm families on the importance of ongoing vigilance when it comes to safety on the farm, he said.

Over the coming months, each of the IFA’s 29 county executives will be addressed by experts from FBD, Teagasc and the Health and Safety Authority, who will provide practical advice on measures that can reduce the risk of accidents.

Mr Bryan called on the Health and Safety Authority to redirect extra resources to awareness and promotion. IFA farm family and social affairs committee chairman Margaret Healy said close co-operation between farm families and agencies will heighten awareness of best practice and reduce the level of accidents on farms.