DEATHS FROM farm accidents this year have been running at the rate of almost one a week, according to the Minister for Labour Affairs. At a meeting yesterday with farming bodies, the Health and Safety Authority, insurance interests and Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith, Dara Calleary called on the agriculture sector to bring forward an urgent plan of action.
There were nine farm deaths in the first two months of this year. Mr Calleary called the meeting to express his concern and alarm at the very high numbers of deaths – 11 last year – which so far this year were running at the rate of nearly one a week.
Department figures show that five of the deaths were in farming and four others in occupations but on farms. The sector has been given four weeks to produce plans to help reduce the levels of work-related deaths.
The farm deaths included victims being caught in power shafts, two were killed while felling trees, two were crushed by machinery, one fell from a horse and another from a ledge.
Two children died in incidents involving vehicles.
Mr Calleary has asked for a plan of action to supplement the work being done by the Health and Safety Authority on farm safety.
“There is too much tragic loss of life and serious injury occurring on Irish farms. I believe we urgently need to change the whole culture in relation to farm safety. I have asked the farm organisations . . . to use their collective expertise to start a campaign to change the culture in relation to farm safety.”
Since 2005, 105 people have been killed in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors. Agriculture only accounts for about 6 per cent of the workforce of 115,000 but about 500,000 are are people exposed to risk if family members are included.
Figures also show the rate of reported fatalities per 100,000 in the sectors is three times that of construction and six times greater than the average across all sectors.