Farmers on a farm safety walk in Ballykett, Kilrush, Co Clare, on Monday strongly expressed the view that farm succession is the key to solving the safety challenge on farms.

They told the Minister for Employment and Small Business, with responsibility for the HSA, Pat Breen, that farmers often only invest in farmyards when they have a successor joining the business.

“We have some people here today who have kids but they’re gone to England. They’ve no generation coming after them so there’s no will there to do it,” said the host farmer, Martin Fennell. “I’m coming from a situation where I’m in my 50s, I’ve a youngster aged 19 gone to do a degree, I’m hoping that he’ll come back so I’m putting things in place for him. Not only that, but I’m thinking of my safety and the people I invite on to my farm.”

Listen to interviews with participants in the farm walk in our podcast below:

Listen to "Farm Safety walk in Co Clare" on Spreaker.

The Fennell farmyard was awarded the safety champion of the year at the Farmyard Awards at the Ploughing this year. The exemplary farm ticks all the boxes when it comes to farm safety, with machinery parked safely, ladders hanging up on walls and plenty of swinging gates to aid safe animal handling.

According to Fennell, there are a number of factors that apply to each individual farmer when deciding to invest in safer facilities on the farm:

  • Having a successor identified.
  • The type of job the farmer is working in or if they are full-time.
  • Finances available.
  • Age profile.

    • So far this year, 39 people have been killed in workplace accidents, 19 of which are in farming. The walk was held in an area where five people have been killed in farm accidents in the last five years.

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