Safety must be a priority on our farms - A most dangerous occupation

Never has there been greater need for renewed emphasis on safety in the killing fields of Irish farming.

Tragically, a black column of statistics records that 30 people died on farms across the country in 2014, a death toll that includes three children. This comes despite repeated calls for farmers to be more alert to the ever-present dangers that surround them.

Regrettably, the time-worn adage that familiarity breeds contempt holds truer for farming than any other career. As they go about their daily lives, too many farmers seem to give insufficient regard to the hazards associated with Ireland’s most deadly occupation. There can be no denying that last year’s unprecedented toll of farming-related deaths was the result of an insufficiently vigilant approach by some people towards the importance of having protective safeguards on tractors and other heavy machinery, which can kill or maim in the blink of an eye, not to mention the inherent risk of working with bulls or rams, which can turn on a person without warning.

Another death trap on the farm which continues to claim lives in spite of repeated warnings is the ubiquitous slurry tank which, all too often, is left inadequately covered.

An additional burden of responsibility for farmers is the presence of children in their workplace. Inevitably, the farmyard and surrounding fields can be a fatal playground, especially when a toddler wanders out of sight of the those minding them. If they vanish for a split second and wander into the path of a reversing tractor or a dangerous animal, the result can be fatal. On every farm in the country, the reality is that hazards confront innocent children at every turn and parents must give them clear ground-rules on the dangers around them.

By any yardstick, the tragedies of the past year are a black mark on the entire farming industry. Unfortunately, it is no different to other potentially perilous walks of life where, generally speaking, attitudes towards the vital issue of safety only seem to change if a serious accident occurs and when media headlines tell of a neighbour or someone up the country who has either been injured or killed on the farm.

Over the weekend, IFA president Eddie Downey expressed his deep concern over the steadily rising death toll and urged farmers to put the issue of safety at the top of their New Year resolutions. In the course of a major conference on farm safety last summer, he was at pains to highlight the danger of farmers taking risks because of heavy workloads or the rush to get the work done before the rain came.

With the death toll by mid-summer exceeding the entire 2013 total, he warned farmers not to take risks in the heat of the moment, which they would normally not take. “Being tired, distracted and stressed is often a reality on busy farms and every effort must be made to avoid shortcuts,” he said. Mr Downey’s blunt message was that, even in hectic times, safety must come first.

Sadly, his eminently sensible advice could have dark echoes for hundreds of farm families tragically bereaved down the years by fatal accidents to loved ones .