There is consensus from everyone that something must be done to tackle health and safety on farms. But there is a gap between that and understanding what can be done to change it, the director of Teagasc Prof Gerry Boyle has said.
“We are fantastic at formulating plans, the implementation is the challenge,” Prof Boyle said. “What we need is an implementation summit that points to actions. Without a radical approach, we won’t be able to tackle what is unacceptable and tragic.”
The Teagasc director was speaking the National Farm Safety Conference in Carlow on Friday.
Accidents on farms cause more workplace deaths than all other occupations combined. Between 2008 and 2017, there were 210 fatal farm accidents. The greatest number of accidents involve tractors, machinery and livestock.
“Unfortunately the farmers we are trying to get to are not in discussion groups,” Boyle said, adding that Teagasc is going to appoint a second health and safety specialist.
“I think we are at crisis point here. We cannot keep going the way we are going. A lot of effort has gone in but the results remain the same.”
Key issues such as succession, education, how risk is communicated to farmers and the profitability of farms were all mentioned at the conference as contributing to Ireland’s poor track record on farm safety.
Dr Sharon McGuinness CEO of the HSA speaking at the National conference on Farm Safety and Health, \ Finbarr O'Rourke
Internationally, there is an emphasis on the three Es: education, engineering and enforcement.
According to Gerry Boyle, we need to consider the place for enforcement.
“20% of farmers in the UK readily admitted to the fact that they liked taking risks. There is a massive gap between the perception of risk a farmer will have and the actual risk. If we could understand that gap we would go a long way to resolving many of the problems.”
Swedish Professor Peter Lundqvist said that they experience similar issues with 35% of workplace accidents in farming. His research has found that consistent exposure to risk with positive outcomes makes risk normal.
“It becomes part of a farming identity,” he said. “Then there’s a pressure to save time and people take shortcuts.”
Read more
Fianna Fáil publishes bill to create standalone farm safety body
There is consensus from everyone that something must be done to tackle health and safety on farms. But there is a gap between that and understanding what can be done to change it, the director of Teagasc Prof Gerry Boyle has said.
“We are fantastic at formulating plans, the implementation is the challenge,” Prof Boyle said. “What we need is an implementation summit that points to actions. Without a radical approach, we won’t be able to tackle what is unacceptable and tragic.”
The Teagasc director was speaking the National Farm Safety Conference in Carlow on Friday.
Accidents on farms cause more workplace deaths than all other occupations combined. Between 2008 and 2017, there were 210 fatal farm accidents. The greatest number of accidents involve tractors, machinery and livestock.
“Unfortunately the farmers we are trying to get to are not in discussion groups,” Boyle said, adding that Teagasc is going to appoint a second health and safety specialist.
“I think we are at crisis point here. We cannot keep going the way we are going. A lot of effort has gone in but the results remain the same.”
Key issues such as succession, education, how risk is communicated to farmers and the profitability of farms were all mentioned at the conference as contributing to Ireland’s poor track record on farm safety.
Dr Sharon McGuinness CEO of the HSA speaking at the National conference on Farm Safety and Health, \ Finbarr O'Rourke
Internationally, there is an emphasis on the three Es: education, engineering and enforcement.
According to Gerry Boyle, we need to consider the place for enforcement.
“20% of farmers in the UK readily admitted to the fact that they liked taking risks. There is a massive gap between the perception of risk a farmer will have and the actual risk. If we could understand that gap we would go a long way to resolving many of the problems.”
Swedish Professor Peter Lundqvist said that they experience similar issues with 35% of workplace accidents in farming. His research has found that consistent exposure to risk with positive outcomes makes risk normal.
“It becomes part of a farming identity,” he said. “Then there’s a pressure to save time and people take shortcuts.”
Read more
Fianna Fáil publishes bill to create standalone farm safety body
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