A review of road safety laws relating to farm machinery is urgently needed, Fine Gael's spokesperson for agriculture Tim Lombard has said.

The call comes as the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) begins its two-week inspection campaign.

Lombard said: “We have a situation in this country where 16-year-olds can do a theory test and then drive a tractor that can do 50km/h with a load of more than 20t behind it.

“This is absolutely ridiculous. Teenagers with nothing more than a theory test are legally allowed to drive powerful farm machinery and a review is urgently needed. We have laws in this land that are for a different previous age.”

The Cork senator described recent tragedies as a blight on community and society.

“It is about not only the people who are dying, but about the families who are left behind. I have seen two fatalities in my locality in the past six weeks.”

Change

“We need to have major change, because what has been done in the past decade has not been successful.

"To really make a change when it comes to farm safety and what is happening on our family farms, we need to make hard and somewhat unpopular decisions,” Lombard warned.

On a recent Seanad Public Consultation Committee debate on farm safety, Lombard said: “We need to do the same again and to get the key principals and key actors around the table, whether it’s the health and safety or the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and deliver on it.

“I’ll be working closely with newly appointed Minister with responsibility for farm safety Martin Heydon on addressing this. If one looks at the basics, we are paying 23% VAT on farm safety material - this must change.”

Cultural change

With Farm Safety Week approaching, Lombard feels highlighting the issue for one week won’t be enough.

“The statistics show this has not worked. We need a cultural change where safety is the number one priority on every farm in the country and new practices to help implement this.

"I am committed to pioneering farm safety in the new Seanad and will work tirelessly on this incredibly important issue.”

The HSA has said that between 2010 and 2019, there were 65 deaths due to tractors and farm vehicles, while there were 39 farm machinery deaths.

Some 40% of all fatalities in workplaces happen in an agricultural setting, while the sector comprises 5% of the overall workforce.

Tractors and machinery account for the highest proportion of farm deaths and injuries in Ireland, with elderly farmers and children at particular risk.

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