Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Monday, 23 March 2015

Seanad Public Consultation Committee

Farm Safety: Discussion

2:00 pm

Photo of Maurice CumminsMaurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When we have completed our report, we will have statements in the House which will be attended by the Minister. It is for this reason we decided to proceed with these hearings despite the Minister's lack of availability. As I said, he will be in the House when we discuss the report we intend to publish after hearing representations from all the organisations that have made submissions.

In regard to the inclusion of a farm safety aspect in all training courses conducted under the rural environment protection scheme, what type of response has the Department had to these training courses? In the case of text alerts to farmers aimed at increasing awareness of safety issues, has there been feedback on the success of that approach?

In the ten years from 2004 to 2014, the majority of farm deaths - 96 - involved vehicles and machinery. Are they the consequence of old machinery and, if so, might a grant scheme be introduced to replace old machinery, or would Mr. Callanan say it is more about poor practices?

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