The Health and Safety Authority has announced there will be 2,000 farm inspections planned for this year, a decrease of 300 compared with 2016.
The figures were published in the HSA’s ‘Programme of Work for 2017’.
Agriculture remains the most dangerous occupation, with 21 fatal accidents on farms in 2016. Machinery was the biggest cause of fatal accidents, followed by livestock attacks.
Machinery
There are a total of 11,220 workplace inspections and investigations planned for this year, with construction receiving twice as many as farming.
Despite the fall, a HSA spokesperson said: “Looking at the range of actions that we have planned for Agriculture in 2017 it is clear that our commitment to the sector has in no way diminished.
“There will be a continued emphasis on promoting safety on farms through participation in knowledge-sharing and discussion groups. We have our Farm Safety Partnership, which will implement year two of its current three-year action plan.”
An updated Farm Safety Code of Practice will also be published this year.
High rate of injuries
The HSA said a key theme will be new and returning workers, as this group has been identified by an ESRI study as being four times more likely to experience a workplace injury than those with a tenure of over five years.
Minister for Employment and Small Business, Pat Breen TD, whose brief includes workplace safety and health, also added that “it is important to build on any success achieved and focus on areas of concern, such as the continued high rate of injury on farms.
“I also find it alarming that so many serious and fatal injuries, regardless of sector, involve the self-employed,” he said.
Statistics from the CSO show that work-related illness now represents more days lost across the whole economy than work-related injury.
Read more
How can we make farms a safer place?
The Health and Safety Authority has announced there will be 2,000 farm inspections planned for this year, a decrease of 300 compared with 2016.
The figures were published in the HSA’s ‘Programme of Work for 2017’.
Agriculture remains the most dangerous occupation, with 21 fatal accidents on farms in 2016. Machinery was the biggest cause of fatal accidents, followed by livestock attacks.
Machinery
There are a total of 11,220 workplace inspections and investigations planned for this year, with construction receiving twice as many as farming.
Despite the fall, a HSA spokesperson said: “Looking at the range of actions that we have planned for Agriculture in 2017 it is clear that our commitment to the sector has in no way diminished.
“There will be a continued emphasis on promoting safety on farms through participation in knowledge-sharing and discussion groups. We have our Farm Safety Partnership, which will implement year two of its current three-year action plan.”
An updated Farm Safety Code of Practice will also be published this year.
High rate of injuries
The HSA said a key theme will be new and returning workers, as this group has been identified by an ESRI study as being four times more likely to experience a workplace injury than those with a tenure of over five years.
Minister for Employment and Small Business, Pat Breen TD, whose brief includes workplace safety and health, also added that “it is important to build on any success achieved and focus on areas of concern, such as the continued high rate of injury on farms.
“I also find it alarming that so many serious and fatal injuries, regardless of sector, involve the self-employed,” he said.
Statistics from the CSO show that work-related illness now represents more days lost across the whole economy than work-related injury.
Read more
How can we make farms a safer place?
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