Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach and welcome the witnesses here today. I thank them for coming for such an important topic. A neighbour of mine passed away two weeks ago. He was a man in his 70s who had farmed all his life, having grown up farming with his father. He lived just a couple of miles down the road and, sadly, he passed away.

This is important for all generations.

I would love to explore the idea of farm safety campaigns at the marts, as Senator Brady mentioned. I was at a mart recently where Croí, the heart charity, had an awareness campaign in the form of taking assessments and different types of health metrics in relation to farmers. I think this is something we should absolutely do and I would be very interested in hearing the thoughts of the witnesses on it. I agree with Ms Jordan's point that it is important we start with the younger generation to normalise it. Regarding the funding Ms Jordan referred to earlier, if she could share more information on it, I would be very interested in working with her on it.

The next point was mentioned already, but I have a major concern about tractors. There are extremely high-powered tractors with significant weight, especially during the silage season, and we see very young teenagers flying down the road. I have also seen young lads driving around with phones in their hands. I would be very interested in hearing the witnesses' thoughts on how we target those young people. It is very important they are working, but they must also realise there is such a responsibility on their shoulders because these tractors are so powerful. Sometimes, I think this fact is missed when we are working with such young people. I must go to the Dáil now, so I apologise, but I hope to return.