Mr. Martin O'Halloran:

The Health and Safety Authority and its inspectors have powers to inspect any place of work. A private farm constitutes a place of work. The HSA carries out about 3,000 farming visits each year. The general approach adopted is to actively encourage the farmer to take appropriate corrective action. Situations occasionally arise where the inspectors will employ the enforcement instruments in the legislation if there is a lack of co-operation. These are improvement or prohibition notices. A prohibition notice would typically be used for an unguarded PTO which is known to be a serial and habitual cause of fatalities and amputation. These are some of the most brutal incidents. An inspector will go onto private land. He or she is empowered to examine the level of maintenance of a vehicle to ensure it is safe and appropriate for use.