Agriculture has the highest rate of work-related fatal injury in Ireland, with farmers seven times more likely to be killed at work compared with any other sector.

Other data from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) also shows that there are 18 deaths for every 100,000 workers in the agricultural industry - this figure is just 1.5 for every 100,000 workers nationally.

Construction workers account for six deaths in every 100,000 workers.

'Out of sync'

Speaking at Teagasc's Signpost webinar 'Understanding and supporting social sustainability of farmers and preventing injury and ill health', Francis Blight who works in the health and safety department of Teagasc said that Ireland is "way out of sync" with other industries.

Nationally, there are 140,000 farms and 400,000 people working on these farms.

"Unlike other countries, 92% of farmers are sole operators or self-employed on their own farm," Bligh said.

Bligh spoke about farmers being "psychologically unbounded" - meaning that they are masters of what they do each day on the farm.

They decide every day what they do and how they do it

"They don't have to follow the rules that would apply if they were working on a construction site.

"They decide every day what they do and how they do it," he said.

He emphasised the importance of getting it into their minds, when they are doing each task, to have safety at the forefront.

Even though the majority of farmers are their own employer, they still fall under the Safety, Health and Welfare at work Act 2005.

"They have a duty to manage their own safety and the farm in a safe way."

Standard mortality rate

Dr Breda Smyth et al found that the standard mortality ratio among farmers is five times higher than 'white collar' workers.

They are three times more likely to die from cancer. Farmers are urged to get regular health checks.

It was also said on the webinar that when health checks were carried out at marts, there were cases where farmers were actually sent straight to the hospital.

"Every year, four or five farmers are alive because of health checks," Bligh said.