A two-week inspection campaign by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is to begin on Monday 13 July.

Inspectors will visit farms nationwide with a view to highlighting a number of safety issues in order to reduce fatalities and serious incidents.

Approximately 200 farm inspections will take place over the two-week period, with particular focus on tractor, machinery and quad bike safety.

Fatalities

There have been 15 fatalities so far in 2020; three involving children and nine involving those over the age of 65. A large proportion of all workplace fatalities occur in agriculture, even though just 5% of the national workforce is employed in the sector.

A spokesperson for the HSA told the Irish Farmers Journal: “The majority of incidents with tractors or machinery involve a combination of poor planning, operator error, lack of training, maintenance issues or the presence of children/elderly near work activity.

“The incidents we’re seeing are preventable with the appropriate planning and precautions in place and farmers need to take a few minutes each day to plan out their work in a safe and healthy way.”

Help to save lives

Commenting on the need for this blitz, HSA chief inspector Mark Cullen said: “These inspections will highlight areas where improvement is needed, which will invariably help to save lives.

“Vehicle or machinery injuries are preventable if the correct safety procedures are put in place and observed. Our inspection blitz will help raise awareness and focus farmers’ attention on the importance of managing safety on their farms."

The main causes of deaths involving farm machinery include being crushed under a machine part, caught in a machine mechanism or crushed between vehicles.

“Lives and livelihoods are ruined each year and I am urging all those involved in farming to ensure that safety is their number one priority before using tractors, vehicles and machinery,” said Cullen.

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