Farming does not need to be dangerous. Until we accept this, accidents and deaths will remain a part of everyday life on Irish farms.

The industry could be accused of simply accepting that agriculture is the most dangerous sector in Irish life, that near misses which turn into accidents are par for the course. The reality is that when accidents happen, some form of action is required in order to prevent a repeat.

Changing this mindset is going to require a cultural shift in how we approach farm safety. So, how do you change culture? Increased regulation on its own will have little impact – it is not a problem that can be solved by a top-down approach.

Instead, we should look within the sector and address the level of tolerance among farmers towards poor safety practices. The farm safety initiative run this week, led by the IFA, is important in raising awareness of the issue, but it is how we react to this that will be key to driving change.

There are examples of how this has been achieved in other sectors and countries, such as Sweden, that we should explore and learn from.