This year has been a black one for farm safety. Before we have even reached September, we have had more deaths on Irish farms than in all of 2013. Statistically speaking, farming is the most dangerous occupation in the country.

The body in charge of ensuring that workplaces are kept safe is the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).

Its senior inspector is Pat Griffin and he said that he is concerned by the trend which has developed this year.

“The level of deaths this year is very, very disappointing. All the work, all of the resources that is going into it and still there are deaths,” the senior inspector said.

However, he expressed his pleasure with the level of knowledge there is on farms regarding safety.

“The level of awareness about farm safety on farms is very good. Our inspectors are meeting people on farms and they are all very well informed. They are willing to cooperate and want to make a difference,” Griffin said.

However, he admitted a “serious mindset change” needs to occur to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities.

“We need farmers to be proactive about safety. It needs to become part of the everyday so they don’t even have to think about it only when an accident occurs or if there is a near miss on their own farm.

“That’s what the national farm safety day was there to achieve. We hoped that the filling out of the survey would make people think longer about it,” he added.

While taking confidence from what farmers are saying on the ground about farm safety, Griffin expressed his severe disappointment with the number of those who downloaded the health and safety audit from www.farmsafety.ie on the national farm safety day.

“With all the public awareness around the event, we were expecting a major surge of hits to the website but we only got 100 people throughout the course of the day logging on.

“It was very disheartening. We’d hope that people filled it out on the hard copy but it was disappointing,” he added.

Of the 17 deaths on farms this year, 10 of those involved vehicles and machines. Griffin said that the HSA is focused on significantly reducing deaths involving machinery.

“Machines are the big killer this year. People feel safe while in a tractor or on a machine, but you cannot let calmness be overtaken by laziness. You must always be on guard,” he said.

The HSA is in the process of carrying out 3,000 inspections on farms. While there is a particular focus on inspections in Cork, Griffin said no one type of farmer is being targeted by the inspections.

He is also encouraging a two-way process with the inspections that would deliver long-term health benefits for farmers.

“The word inspections automatically conjures up negative thoughts and people are reluctant to participate, but it works both ways.

“If an inspector advises changes to be made, they generally don’t cost much to do and it could end up saving a life or a limb. I’ve spoken to people who have lost a limb and the enduring thought is what if.

“They think ‘what if I had taken a bit more time or done things properly’. Having to farm for the rest of your life with a missing limb is something too many people have to do in Ireland,” Griffin said.

Griffin concluded by saying that there will be an emphasis on farm safety regarding round bales.

“We have seen an increase in deaths and injuries involving round bales. People need to recognise the danger that goes with them. They’re big and heavy and, unfortunately, cause fatalities.”