Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Even though Teagasc is the body that deals with farmers on an ongoing basis, it is the Health and Safety Authority that is responsible for health and safety and investigating farm accidents where there are deaths. I heard a debate this week in the Dáil from which I understand that many agencies are involved in health and safety. Various Departments can have a stake in health and safety issues, and I am sure the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has a role. Teagasc has a role, as does the Health and Safety Authority. I get the feeling that no one is taking full ownership of the issue. I would have hoped it was Teagasc that did so. I know that when something goes wrong, we have a statutory body to investigate it.

This point has been touched on a little and I ask Professor Boyle to give us a bit more information on the age profile of those involved in accidents. All of us who live in rural Ireland have come across the situation of an old man out on his own trying to do what he used to do and do the work of three people. He is not able to do it and should not be doing it. We also have five year old children running around behind tractors. All of these accidents are tragic. Will Professor Boyle give us an age breakdown of all of the deaths?

Many younger people now work off the farms. We are all talking about the situation this creates but we are not doing much about it. A few years ago, I used to meet farmers who would tell me they had never been as well off as they were in the farm retirement scheme. They had never had as much money in their working lives. Many of those farms were vulnerable and not viable. Now I meet farmers in their 70s who tell me they are working harder than they ever did because their sons are trying to hold down a day job. We have 70 year old farmers out on their own with big machines and big tough animals. I feel there is a growing risk. It is a reflection of where we are in rural Ireland at present. Will Professor Boyle also give us details on how many people involved in accidents were farming on their own at the time? We have all heard of tragic accidents where a lot of time had elapsed before someone spotted there was a problem.

I am trying to spur on Teagasc to do more in this area. This is where I am coming from. I do not get it. Teagasc has trained its staff through events it has run. The staff it sends to farms have had training. Professor Boyle has told us the Teagasc national safety conference took place in Clare last November. How many farmers attend these events? Teagasc's staff and consultants, the consultants who do reports for farmers and representatives from some farmers' organisations attend. We feel bad when farm accidents happen and they are the biggest cause of workplace fatalities in Ireland. This should not be the case. Industry has been forced to take quite a step up and I do not think farmers have. I ask Professor Boyle to reflect, come back and give us a bit more information. No one is specifically responsible. This is a plea from rural Ireland to help. Professor Boyle knows all about this, but I would like a greater emphasis on it.

With regard to Teagasc's financial statements, I always ask a basic question when I do not understand something. If I do not understand something, I am quite sure I am not alone in that regard. The Teagasc representatives understand what it means in the financial statements. The financial statements contain the heading "knowledge transfer", which seems to be a very big source of income and expenditure. It is a significant part of the accounts. Teagasc's income also includes operations income, research income and Oireachtas grants, but knowledge transfer is a big part of it. Will Professor Boyle explain to the people watching this, who are not familiar with Teagasc financial statements, what this is all about? What does the heading mean?