Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I offer my sympathies to Mr. Gohery on his bereavement. At least something good is coming out of it because of what he is doing and the work in which he has engaged. The proposal to have this public consultation came after I heard a Clare FM interview with Mr. Eugene Hogan, who lost his brother in a farming accident in Offaly. The following week I proposed a public consultation on farm safety. I am thankful the House agreed to it and we are here today.

Embrace FARM is doing great work, as we saw with the appearances on the "The Late Late Show". I have been on that programme so I know the impact it has. In an indirect way, the publicity will save lives because it is raising awareness. Irish Rural Link has always done great work and it is no surprise to me that it has embraced this as a very important rural issue. We had people from the GAA before us earlier and they also have a critical role to play. I hope that as a result of today's work, we might see a national movement within the GAA. I proposed to the delegation that it would go back to the organisation and seek a full-time farm safety officer to be based in Croke Park. That, in itself, would drive other clubs to engage in safety awareness days.

Mr. Dolan's testimonial today has been very powerful as he has had experience on both sides. He has run a farm and worked in industry, so he knows the different practices. Sometimes, farmers who do not work outside the farm and have been full-time farmers would not necessarily see the difference between the farm and industry. We will take Mr. Dolan's suggestions on board and I thank him for the submission and his testimony. When we draft the report, we will draw a distinction between industry and farming. It is important for all of us to remember there are 245,000 people engaged in farming on either a full-time or part-time basis. Equally, there are 400,000 people living on farms in the country. I thank the witnesses, as the engagement has been very worthwhile.