Teagasc has announced a new farm safety initiative. Eighteen people died on Irish farms last year.
The agriculture and food development authority will be offering a series of half-day courses for farmers on a countrywide basis during 2007 to advise them on what they must do to prevent farm deaths.
This follows the recent circulation to all farmers nationally of a new safety code of practice.
Teagasc health and safety officer John McNamara said: "Training can have a positive impact, as seen with the success of the pilot phase of the . . . initiative during 2006. Teagasc provided short safety training courses to 1,600 farmers in five counties."
He added: "Almost 100 per cent of farmers stated that they would recommend attending the safety course to farmer colleagues."
