A new farm safety programme is being rolled out across Irish secondary schools, with provider FRS Training seeking to run the programme with students in over 700 schools.

The farm safety awareness programme will offer face-to-face and webinar-led training modules covering all major farm safety risks, including livestock, machinery, slurry, working at heights, tractors and more.

Funded by the Department of Agriculture, it will be aimed at all students, including those in transition year and studying agricultural science.

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The initiative will also provide assistance to teachers in educating students about the potential dangers associated with farming and agriculture.

Young people focus

Minister of State with responsibility for farm safety Michael Healy-Rae said the programme will improve awareness around farm safety among second level students.

“Unfortunately, children and young people in farming are particularly at risk of being involved in a farm incident. Since 2015, 12 people under 18 years of age have died on Irish farms and others have been seriously injured.

“I am urging second-level schools and teachers to avail of this opportunity to educate their students about the hazards on farms and how incidents can be prevented.

"I am confident that this programme will not only contribute to a lifelong positive attitude to farm safety among students, but these students will also increase awareness around farm safety among their farming families,” he said.

Ben Fearn of FRS Training said it is vital that farm safety education focuses on young people.

"What they learn at a young age, they can carry that with them for the rest of their long careers and this will help to build a strong culture of safe farming among the next generation,” he said.

The latest figures from the Health Safety Authority show that farms remain the most dangerous workplaces in Ireland, with a total of 171 fatal incidents recorded on farms in the past decade.

So far in 2025, there have been 16 farming fatalities, which is more than the total number of fatalities in farming for all of 2024.