I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Leader of the House for inviting me to speak today on the important issue of Farm Safety.
While my colleague, Minister Pat Breen through his responsibility for the Health and Safety Authority, has primary responsibility for Health and Safety on farms, I am particularly supportive of the farm safety agenda and improving the safety record on Irish farms.
I’ve seen first-hand the devastation that follows farm accidents and fatalities. The impact on families and communities is unquantifiable.
As Minister, it is my intention to be a vocal advocate for safety and vigilance in order to ensure our farms are the safest working environments possible.
So I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the second UK and Ireland Farm Safety Week, which has been running since Monday. This is a positive addition to the HSA’s own Farm Safety Campaign which ran in April of this year.
This farm safety awareness week, offers five days of themed, practical farm safety advice and guidance to farmers and urges them to consider ‘Who Would Fill Your Boots?’ if they had a farm accident.
Farm safety is a critical issues facing farming today. Statistics show that accidents on farms cause more workplace deaths than all other occupations combined.
In the period 2004 to 2013, there were 176 fatal farm accidents.
This is a shocking statistic.
To date this year there have been 8 fatal farm accidents on Irish farms. These 8 fatal farm accidents account for over forty percent of all fatal work accidents so far in 2016, while farming accounts for less than 6 percent of the workforce.
While this is a welcome reduction, the rate of accidents on farms remains very high and it is important that the focus on farm safety is maintained.
Injuries and fatalities are caused in a number of ways but the two highest areas of accidents relate to tractors & machinery and livestock. So far this year tractors & machinery account for 75% of all fatal farm accidents.
It is important that farmers maintain all their tractors and machinery in good working order. This is part of being a good farmer. Farmers need to be reminded that accidents with tractors and machinery are the cause of the greatest number of fatal farm accidents, and the pattern is being repeated again this year. Machinery and tractor maintenance should be seen as a routine part of farm work, and that it is an essential expenditure to ensure a safe and profitable farming enterprise.
Cattle can be unpredictable, particularly cows with newly or recently born calves. Cows with a calf may see the approach of a person as a threat to their calf, and will naturally take action to defend their calf, particularly if there is a dog present. It is important, therefore, to take great care when approaching or handling a cow and calf to prevent an accident from occurring.
It is important to remember that all animals can be unpredictable, especially when they are confined or there is poor visibility. Although most animal incidents are not fatal, many men, women and children are needlessly injured every year due to a lack of safety awareness.
Behavioural change is urgently required to minimise risk and prevent future accidents.
In support of this my Department has a number of on-going initiatives in relation to farm safety:
· As part of all of the TAMS II Schemes it is mandatory for all applicants to have completed a minimum of a half day farm safety course before they can claim grant-aid. This will ensure a farm safety statement has been completed on all of these farms whilst, for all of the TAMS II schemes, all structures must be completed in accordance with my Departments’ Building Specifications. These specifications set out the minimum standard to which all work must be completed and include safety related requirements such as ensuring all slurry agitation points are outside the building.
· In addition to the grant-aid schemes, there is a mandatory Health and Safety element included in all ‘Knowledge Transfer Groups’ that I am supporting under the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme. These groups will directly engage in the region of 27,000 farmers with farm safety, right across the sectors, but most importantly, in a setting where they are amongst their farming neighbours and peers.
· This year, as in the last four years, my Department has issued a Farm Safety leaflet to over 130,000 farmers. This was included in the Basic Payment Scheme application pack. This year the leaflet focused on slurry safety and the impact of non-fatal farm accidents.
· The aftermath of a farm fatality is a particularly difficult time for those left behind. To support families who have suffered a sudden loss and who may not have experience in dealing with the Department, there is a co-ordinated single point of contact in my Department. This is to assist families in dealing with my Department’s schemes and services and ensure they get the assistance they need.
· As a further commitment to farm safety, my Department is a very active member of the Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee. This committee brings together all of the industry stakeholders and my officials are in regular contact with the Health and Safety Authority to ensure a co-ordinated approach to farm safety.
· In addition, a North South Farm Safety group has been established involving my Department, the HSA, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Northern Ireland and the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland. This group provides a strong link in relation to Farm Safety so that there can be a coordinated approach on an all island basis.
One of the areas of around farm safety that is regularly talked about is the education of children. The HSA have a dedicated section on farm safety for both primary and post primary schools on their website, including a section on Teacher Support and Resources for the Classroom.
This website includes safety programmes, videos, games and other publications for teachers and pupils to use. There is also the HSA e-learning website (hsalearning.ie) which includes a section for primary and secondary schools, along with a wide range of other safety training courses.
Considerable efforts are being made to ensure that farm safety and health is imbedded at all levels in the area of education from primary to third level. In recent years all primary schools were given a small stock of the publication “Staying Safe on the Farm with Jessy” designed to be read with children explaining the dangers on farms to children in a pleasant way.
Also, a number of initiatives encouraging both children and parents to think about farm safety have been run including colouring competitions to produce a farm safety calendar. A booklet of safety stories, poems, drawings, sketches by children was also produced which materialised in the production of a publication entitled “Only a Giant can lift a Bull”.
This latter publication drew on over 7,500 entries and again was widely distributed to all primary schools. In 2014, all national schools were circulated with information on a new e-learning resource that gave an interactive series of on-line lessons which included a “Keep Safe on the Farm” module and can be viewed on the HSA e-learning website.
While there are many risks in farming, farming does not have to be a dangerous occupation. There are plenty of ways to reduce the danger, without spending significant levels of money. Farmers should be encouraged to take time to plan buildings and work. After all, as farmers, they are the ones who will benefit.
To conclude, it is important for everyone, to continually highlight the need for farmers to think Safety First in all tasks they perform, no matter the pressure.
No individual action or organisation can solve this difficult problem that impacts so negatively on so many lives each year.
Ultimately, farmers must change their own behaviour in relation to their farming practices to ensure that they and all others remain safe on their own farm.
My Department, in conjunction with the HSA, are doing everything we can to try and bring about this change.