The National Farm Safety Measure has been reintroduced in 2026 by the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine to incentivise the purchase and use of PTO shaft covers, in an effort to protect farmers and machinery operators from serious and fatal injuries.

At the launch of the scheme in May, the Department highlighted that over the past five years, agriculture has seen on average 18 deaths per year related to workplace accidents while in the last two years, entanglement in power take-off (PTO) shafts has resulted in two fatalities on Irish farms.

Teagasc research has also revealed that there are approximately 4,500 non-fatal incidents each year on Irish farms, some of which result in lifechanging injuries.

The measure will provide a financial contribution to participating farmers for a maximum of four PTO shaft covers.

The grant aid will be at a rate of 60% subject to a maximum eligible cost of €100 per PTO shaft cover.

How to qualify

To qualify for the measure, a number of criteria must be met.

These include:

  • Participants must have submitted a Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application in 2026 to be eligible to apply.
  • Participants must submit an expression of interest to the Department before purchasing the eligible equipment.
  • The measure will be open for expressions of interest from 27 May 2026 to 6 November 2026.
  • Claims for payment must be submitted by 6 November 2026.
  • PTO shaft covers must meet the requirements of the European Standards EN 12965:2019 and the CE mark must be clearly visible on the PTO shaft cover.
  • All invoices/receipts must state that the PTO shaft covers purchased meet EN 12965:2019.

    • Rates of payment

    Participants in the National Farm Safety Measure 2026 will receive a financial contribution up to 60% of the value of the eligible cost of PTO shaft covers purchased under the measure up to a maximum of four PTO shaft covers.

    The maximum eligible cost is €100 per PTO shaft cover.

    How to apply

    Participants (or their adviser) must complete an expression of interest on www.agfood.ie the Department’s online service by selecting the ‘AgSchemes-Expression of Interest’ and then ‘National Farm Safety Measure 2026’ from the dropdown list.