A busy and distracted mind is just as dangerous as a cracked manhole cover or damaged PTO, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Martin Heydon has said.

When farmers wake up in the morning, safety must be their first thought and not an afterthought, the minster said while speaking at the 'Farmers4Safety - Managing Risk Together' EIP-Agri project conference on Thursday in Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

This project targeted farmers in counties Cork, Tipperary and Wexford with the aim of changing attitudes to farm safety and to provide supports for farmers and farm families in a peer-to-peer mentoring approach.

'Poor safety record'

Farming, the minister said, has a poor safety record, accounting for approximately two in five of all fatal workplace incidents over the past decade, yet only 6% of the working population is employed in the sector.

"Farming continues to be the most dangerous occupation in terms of fatalities in the workplace, with children and the elderly particularly vulnerable," he said.

So far in 2023, the Health and Safety Authority has confirmed that there has been one farm fatality. There were 13 confirmed cases in 2022.

"In recent years, we have reduced the number of fatal incidents compared to the long standing average of 20 per year. But one is one too many," he said.

Farm vehicles and machinery, livestock and falling from height account for most of the fatalities, he stressed.

Mindset

"The farmer is the farm’s greatest asset and we need to see a change in mindset across the whole sector that puts safety and wellbeing first," he said.

The minister applauded how the Farmers4Safety EIP tackled the challenge of engaging with farmers, their families and community through a range of activities from peer-to-peer mentoring and attendance at shows, to a sticker competition to involve children.

“It is encouraging to see that participation in the EIP raised awareness of health and safety and mental wellbeing, and in particular that farmers were significantly less likely to take risks that they would not allow others to take,” he said.