Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the Senator's passion for farm safety and the engagement I have had with him on his proposed Bill. I acknowledge the meetings we have had on farm safety. It is a topic very close to his heart.

There is no single action that can solve the problem. If it were easily solved, the unacceptably high rate of fatalities on Irish farms would have been addressed long before now. It is therefore a matter of a series of measures. I hope we never miss an opportunity where there is a connection to a farmer, whether it is through my Department, an agency or an individual, even individuals in private industry, such as vets or those who deliver the meal in the lorry. We must never miss the opportunity to engage with the farmer and highlight where there have been incidents.

The Senator said many people have done a lot of work. He mentioned Ms Alma Jordan, Mr. Peter Gohery and Mr. Vincent Nally. I have met them individually at various events. Ms Jordan, with AgriKids and AgriAware, ran a good pilot initiative in schools last year. It was a good example of what should be done. When I was a young lad many years ago, I pleaded with my uncle to allow me to get up on a load of bales when travelling along the road. Now, through educational programmes in schools, children are going to their fathers or uncles to call out unsafe farm practices. The day the Senator was very aware of the potential for an incident was the day he was considering farm safety more closely. If we can get children to think more about farm safety, just as they think more about the environment through the Green-Schools environmental programme in schools, it will empower them to raise the issue of safety at the kitchen table and around the farmyard. I have four young kids at home. They point to something dangerous in the yard and ask why it is not being fixed. Schools present a huge opportunity for us. We should never miss any opportunity. There is not one action that can resolve the problem but it is about making sure every interaction is meaningful and highlights the challenges.

One component of the approach is identifying the risks. When at a workplace every day, and it is where you live, you become blind to the hazards. The first step is to identify the hazards and the genuine risks associated with farm activity, including in the yard. The next step is to take action to make things safer. It is a question of figuring out what needs to be done in this regard, whether it is through investment or taking action. Awareness of the hazard is key.

On the Senator's points on the HSA, I work closely with the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy English, who has responsibility for the authority. My officials work very closely with the officials in his Department. The reforms brought about under the chairmanship of Mr. Ciaran Roche and the work on upgrading structures have made the Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee, FSPAC, a subcommittee of the HSA, very fit for purpose in the modern era. As part of the work in this regard, five working groups were set up. They cover behaviour, education and training; health and vulnerable persons; tractors and high-risk machinery; livestock handling; and buildings and working at height. Each subgroup has clear actions related to the five specific areas of risk and is tasked with identifying actions that need to be taken from a policy perspective to address associated challenges. There is a genuine focus on that. I am very proud that Dr. Robert Leonard from my Department is vice chairman of the FSPAC and that my Department is represented on each of the working groups. There is good cohesion between the two Departments. I am happier now regarding the gap the Senator talked about but there are always people to reach out to.

From a policy perspective, I do not believe there is an issue now but there is one regarding individuals. The Senator asked about how to reach everyone. The reform of the CAP is a great opportunity. I want to see farm safety at the heart of everything we do regarding CAP, wherever possible, and everywhere we have a role. Ultimately, we need farm safety to be the first thought every day. When we were working with Mr. Tom Arnold on drawing up the agrifood strategy for the period to 2030, I was determined to make farmer health and well-being a central part of it. Previously, we probably had documents that had referred to ramping up the value of production but that did not refer to the cost to the farmer.

That leads me to the Senator's point on private sector involvement. There is a lot we can do through leveraging, not just in respect of insurance companies, which obviously have skin in the game in working with us to reduce and prevent the number of farm safety incidents and make farming safer, but also in respect of co-operatives. Ultimately, the farmer's farm is his or her greatest asset. From a business perspective, the farmer is integral to a co-operative in that he or she delivers the produce the latter puts on sale. All of the relevant bodies have strong corporate responsibility, and we could work with them. That is where I see a role for the €2 million I have secured this time. It is not the only fund available – we also have funding under the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, and other schemes – but there is now a dedicated fund. I envisage the €2 million being used solely to give to projects in the area of farm safety. I envisage having the ability to leverage it, working with the private sector, to deliver even more money where projects are good and worth supporting. It may be a matter of considering innovative ways of communicating because this is key all the time. Communications are always changing. Historically, we had newspaper, television and radio advertisements but we can look to other areas. That is something I am working on. The private sector could also play a role in that regard.