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The Government body responsible for ensuring workers safety will spend €417,000 on farm safety initiatives during this year, just slightly above last year’s spend of €416,918.
The estimates were given by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor in response to a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil TD Charlie McConalogue.
She also revealed that “in light of the continuing high level of fatalities in the farming sector further funding, if required, can be provided for farm safety initiatives in 2017 once the overall budget is finalised”.
“As agriculture continues to be the highest sector for workplace fatalities, farm safety remains a very high priority for the HSA and this is reflected in the level of resources being assigned by the HSA to that sector,” she said.
Inspections
Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor said she recently met the Minister for Agriculture with regards to improving farm safety and exploring how both of their departments and the HSA can work more closely together to improve the situation in relation to farm safety.
Agriculture remains the most dangerous workplace, with 21 fatalities last year. So far in 2017, there has been one fatality recorded.
However, figures published recently by the HSA show that there will be 2,000 farm inspections this year, a decrease of 300 compared with 2016.
A spokesperson for the HSA told the Irish Farmers Journal that “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.”
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