Warning over deaths on farms

The festive season has proved a particularly dangerous time on Irish farms with 16% of all deaths occurring around Christmas, it was warned today.

Teagasc called for greater vigilance in the agriculture sector during December and January to ensure all farmers and their families have a safe Christmas.

The death rate is running at more than one a month on Irish farms – 17 lives have been lost so far this year with 10 involving farmers over 65.

A national survey of farm accidents conducted by Teagasc Rural Economy Research Centre found 16% of all fatal farm accidents have taken place in December and January over the last 10 years.

The survey, which includes 95,000 farms, found a high rate of injury causing accidents on farms with over 1,700 occurring in 2005. This figure has fallen by around 30% when compared to a similar Teagasc survey in 2001.

Teagasc Health and Safety Officer, John McNamara, said: “The survey findings indicate that some progress has taken place on reducing injury causing accidents in farming, particularly with tractor and machinery operation. All the data available suggests that farm accident levels have dropped among farmers aged between 17 and 65 years.

“The National Farm Survey findings indicate that livestock related accidents are now the predominant cause of injuries among farmers accounting for 65% of all accidents. Livestock related accidents occurred predominantly on non-suckling cattle farms, accounting for 41% of all livestock injuries.”

It is estimated that 3,000 injuries occur on farms each year.

The only sector approaching a similarly high death rate was construction with nine people killed.

Last month, the Health and Safety Authority (HAS) confirmed every farmer in the country would receive a safety pack in a bid to lower the high death rates.

As he confirmed over €1.5m would be spent on the initiative, Tom Beegan, chief executive of the HSA, said: “It is not just farmers who are dying but their children and elderly relatives, this pack offers a practical means of stopping the ongoing tragedy of farm fatality and injury.”

The Teagasc survey conducted as part of the 2005 National Farm Survey found accidents causing injury occur mainly on smaller farms with 51% occurring on farms of less than 20 hectares in size.

Around 48% of all accidents involved people aged 51 to 64-years, with 38% involving those aged between 31 and 50-years.