Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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As there were no apologies received, I will move onto privilege. Before we begin, I bring to witnesses' attention that witnesses giving evidence from within the parliamentary precinct are protected by absolute privilege in respect of the evidence they give to the committee. This means that a witness has a full defence in any defamation action for anything said at the committee meeting. However, witnesses are expected not to abuse this privilege and may be directed to cease giving evidence on an issue at the Chair's discretion. Witnesses should follow the direction of the Chair in this regard and are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that, as is reasonable, no adverse commentary should be made against an identifiable third person or entity. Witnesses who are to give evidence from a location outside the parliamentary precinct are asked to note they may not benefit from the same level of immunity from legal proceedings as a witness giving evidence from within the parliamentary precinct and may consider it appropriate to take legal advice on the matter. Privilege against defamation does not apply to the publication by witnesses outside of the proceedings held by the committee of any matters arising from the proceedings.

Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that Members should not comment on, criticise or make charges against any person outside the House or an official, either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. Parliamentary privilege is considered to apply to the utterances of Members participating online in a committee meeting where their participation is from within the parliamentary precinct. Members may not participate online in a public meeting from outside the parliamentary precinct and any attempt to do so will result in a Member having their online access removed.

The witnesses are very welcome. Cuirim fáilte roimh na finnéithe. We have a good and packed agenda. We will start with farm safety, move on to mental health and well-being and finish on the COM proposal afterwards. We will start with farm safety. We have approximately an hour on that. The committee will hear from officials from several groups. From Embrace FARM, we have Ms Norma Rohan, Mr. Brian Rohan and Ms Catherine Kenneally. From AgriKids, we have Ms Alma Jordan and Ms Tara Farrell. From FBD Insurance, we have Ms Kate Tobin, Mr. Ciaran Roche and Mr. Pat Gilligan. Cuirim fáilte roimh na finnéithe. They are very welcome. We look forward to the opportunity to discuss the issue with them.

We have the submissions that were sent earlier and Members have had the opportunity to read through them. I ask that each group take two minutes to make a statement. At that stage, we will open to the floor where Members will have the opportunity to ask questions. I will take it in groups of five and people will have the opportunity to ask a couple of quick questions. We will then get updates and responses from the witnesses and move on to another group of five questioners. There will be approximately 15 minutes per group. I ask Members to ask their questions as quickly and concisely as they can so the witnesses have the best opportunity to respond. We will start with Embrace FARM, followed by AgriKids and then FBD. The opening statements have been provided and are taken as read into the record. We will begin with Ms Rohan, who has two minutes to make her contribution.

Ms Norma Rohan:

I thank the committee for the invitation. Brian sends his apologies as he is at the silage. That is the job of farming. Embrace FARM is a non-profit support network that stands beside farm families across Ireland who have experienced the unimaginable, that is, sudden death or serious injury on our farms. We honour the memory of those who have died and walk beside the loved ones left behind, ensuring they receive help where, when and how they need it most.

Our journey began in 2014, born from personal grief on our own farm. In 2012, we lost Brian’s dad, Liam, in a tragic accident on our family farm. In the aftermath, we found that while statistics on farm fatalities were published each year, there was no voice for the families behind the numbers. That year alone, 30 lives were lost on Irish farms, and five of them were children under the age of five. We knew something had to change. With the support of Ireland’s farming community, a dedicated board and a passionate and dedicated team, Embrace FARM has grown. As of June 2025, we have supported more than 600 farm families affected by sudden death or life-altering injury, regardless of how or when it happened.

What unites these families is the suddenness of the tragedy. There is no time to prepare, not emotionally, not practically, and certainly not for the continued running of a farm business. Every family's experience is unique, so our response must be too. From the moment a family reaches out, our family liaison officer connects with them to understand their needs. From there, we offer a tailored support plan that may include emotional and psychological supports, peer-to-peer support groups and practical assistance.

What sets the needs of farm families apart is their complexity. A tragedy on the farm not only affects the individual, but also sends shockwaves through the family, the business and the entire rural community. Farming is not just a livelihood; it is a way of life, and when disaster strikes the entire ecosystem around it is shaken. Farm safety must be more than just physical safety. It must also embrace emotional, mental and relational well-being. Producing food and getting it onto the kitchen tables of Ireland is a national effort. Farmers, contractors, even politicians, and many more all play a part. So too must we all play a role in the safety and well-being of our farmers. It does not rest solely on the shoulders of farmers; it rests on everybody.

Ms Alma Jordan:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to speak here today. I am the founder of AgriKids, which was created following the deaths of two little boys in August 2014. Since I started it some ten years ago, through my own savings with no human resources or experience, I have managed to grow and create an organisation that has attracted 80,000 children to participate in farm safety workshops in schools and communities throughout the country. I have created resources, such as storybooks, training manuals and handbooks, which have gone as far afield as Canada and the United States as well as throughout Ireland and the UK. Our children are passionate learners. They are passionate about farming and they are passionate to share their learning in their homes and communities. Their influence cannot be underrated. If we want to see a change in behaviours and cultures let us start with our children. They have the capacity to influence and create this much-needed change.

This topic needs common sense, compassion and compromise. We need to work with farmers. We need to listen to them and understand and appreciate the uniqueness of a farm as both a workplace and a home. We welcome the opportunity to speak before the committee and we believe we have unique insight and willingness to help to bring about change. Recent funding calls have shown a commitment by the Department of agriculture to invest in solutions to this issue and we are extremely grateful to be in receipt of these supports. However, it would be remiss of me not to offer some recommendations. After consulting teachers regarding an existing funding call for children and young people, we feel there is a missed opportunity. The rules state the projects are to be concluded between September and November in schools. This is what we consider to be the off-season. It will be challenging to achieve results when competing with back to school, mid-term breaks and pre-Christmas activities. It would be much easier and more cost-effective if the same effort were undertaken in spring and summer. It would also be of great benefit if the funding could support our core objectives and activities and allow us to do what we do, rather than having us divert resources and people away from our core activities.

Ms Kate Tobin:

I thank the committee for the invitation and the opportunity to participate in today's meeting on the important issue of farm safety, an area in which FBD Insurance is actively involved. I am joined today by my colleagues, Mr. Ciaran Roche and Mr. Pat Gilligan. I will take a moment to express our sincere sympathy to all individuals, families and communities who have been affected by farm accidents. These are not just statistics. Behind every incident is a life lost or altered, families changed forever, and communities deeply impacted.

FBD's roots are deeply embedded in Irish farming. Founded by farmers for farmers, we have worked alongside the agricultural community for more than 50 years. Alongside our role as an insurer, FBD has long championed the importance of farm safety. For decades, in tandem with FBD Trust, we have invested in, supported and led campaigns aimed at encouraging practical steps to improve safety on farms.

In recent years we have invested significantly in a wide range of safety initiatives, sponsored awareness campaigns and participated in national forums on farm safety issues. We have an annual programme of work, led by our dedicated team of experts to support farmer health and safety. This includes our annual mart safety campaign, our partnership with the IFA for farm safety week, safety seminars in agricultural colleges and Farm Safety Live at the Tullamore Show. We are a very active member of the farm safety advisory committee of the HSA. We fully endorse the committee's action plan and remain committed to its implementation.

Our work in partnership with key stakeholders will continue. Collaboration is essential. Sustainable long-term change can only be achieved by working together. We at FBD remain fully committed to playing our part. Protecting our customers and supporting safer farms is not only part of our business; it is part of who we are. I thank the committee for the opportunity to contribute to today's discussion. We look forward to engaging with the committee and continuing to work together to improve farm safety in Ireland.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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When we set out our programme of work, members identified that there is always a focus on the animals and the schemes and that very often the focus leaves the farmers themselves. We very much want to make sure that the person at the heart of the operation gets a focus, including health and well-being. We want to focus on farm safety, including the farmers and their families.

We will take a group of questions and the witnesses will then have an opportunity to respond, after which we will move on to the next group of questions. I ask members to put their questions quickly. A number of committee members are offering, including Deputy Healy-Rae, Senator Daly, Senator Brady, Deputy Kenny and Deputy Aird. I invite Deputy Healy-Rae to ask his questions.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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We are all glad to be here today. This is a very serious matter. As the witnesses are aware, we have had more than our share of farm accidents, including machinery accidents, in the recent past. It has been happening around me for the past 40 years. A local man lost his arm in a driveshaft. He was lucky enough and worked all his life afterwards. Another neighbour was mangled by the same thing. I have had accidents and close calls involving machinery and animals for more than 40 years. Our discussion today is crucial to highlight the dangers.

I am very agitated about handbrakes. People should ensure they have a working handbrake on a tractor or other vehicle and ensure they pull it correctly. I ended up with the front wheel of a four-wheel-drive tractor going over both my legs and resting on my hip. On the first night of Covid I was in CUH. Luckily nothing was broken, and I appeared here afterwards as normal. I was fairly sore but I was lucky.

That is one thing. The power drives is the other thing, to ensure that you do not have loose clothes or that you are in a hurry around the unit, and to shut it off when you come off the seat of the tractor.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy can ask a quick question and then we will move on to Senator Daly.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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All right. The last thing is children. It is easy enough to mind one child but I would advise all farmers and operators to be very choosy about bringing a second child with them. Have the witnesses recognised these issues and would they highlight them further? Those three things will stop lives being taken.

Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome our witnesses. I have been very active in the area of farm safety. Some colleagues will be aware that I have a Bill in the system. It is well buried but it has not gone away. It provides for establishing a farm safety agency in the same way as we have a road safety agency. I do think that is the way to go but we will not waste any time on that today. To Ms Rohan, I cannot say enough about what you do. I knew Liam, as you know, go ndéanfaidh Dia trócaire ar a anam uasal. We see ourselves in the preventative role and when accidents happen, we say it is another statistic, one that got away on us and we are not doing our job. We move on to still try to prevent future accidents. You have taken up the mantle that support is needed for people who have suffered accidents. I have no question but want to compliment the great work you do. The annual remembrance service alone is very moving.

Myself and Ms Jordan have done a bit of trucking in the past as well. I welcome her here. AgriKids is a major part of the solution going forward. It is education. No matter what problems are thrown at us, education is often given as the solution. If we teach children the awareness, they will teach Mammy, Daddy and the grandparents. It is no more than with smoking and I am a former smoker myself. The kids police it, if someone lights up a cigarette, if you get them anti-smoking. It is the very same with farm safety. If they see the dangers, they will highlight them to Mammy, Daddy, Granny and Grandfather. What AgriKids is doing is a major part of what needs to be done. Ms Jordan mentioned the money. I highlighted in the Seanad this morning that Farm Safety Week is the week after next but it is the wrong time of year. It should take place at the start of the summer holidays, the start of the busy season, not coming in the middle of it. As was said already, farmers are flat out. I feel the timing of Farm Safety Week is wrong. Maybe the witnesses would comment on that a little bit more. Everyone might comment on the role the media has to play in this. I do not think they play enough of a role.

I have one question for FBD. There was a lot of talk in the last few weeks about the RSA introducing mandatory training for under-16s for tractor driving. How does that fit in with insurance? FBD would not insure someone to drive a car without training. Is there a policy or a feeling on the direction we should go for that mandatory training for under-16s who are stepping onto these enormous machines with no official training?

Paraic Brady (Fine Gael)
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I am a farmer and attended a scene where a young lad lost his life in my area. I was the second person to be there. It could have been avoided, the same as everything else, all these other accidents. There were two in our local area. It is true what they say. It not only has a devastating effect on people's lives but also on communities. To this day, that farm is never going to be the same. I ran an event in Granard farmers' mart to educate kids. It was sponsored by AXA, Kiernan Milling and an agri-adviser. We brought sixth class to the mart and went through safety regarding what happens and where the dangers are. That is key to this whole thing. It needs to be rolled out throughout the countryside. Marts are there. Kids understand they are where the cattle come to be sold. They can also be used for safety events. Machinery operators even come there and talk about the shafts and the dangers. If we only saved 1%, which is very small but it is a huge difference. Regarding the statistics on farm safety, when a person takes out an insurance policy, is risk assessment done on farms? As Senator Daly said just now, 16-year-olds are getting up on 200 horse power tractors with 15 tonnes of silage going down the road.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I need to give other members an opportunity, if the Senator could ask his question quickly.

Paraic Brady (Fine Gael)
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I would like FBD to comment on that, please.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I thank all our witnesses for their opening statements. I grew up on a farm and we did a bit of contracting in a small way but it was 165s and 135s and smaller tractors than they have nowadays. We would put them in the link box with what they use today. I see youngsters driving very heavy machinery. I know they are probably a lot safer in the sense that they have better cabs on them and many more safety measures within them than were in the older machines we all grew up using. Sometimes I look back and wonder that more of us were not killed or hurt by the way some things went on. On that point about training for young people who are driving these very big tractors, the speed they can go at on the road even is quite dangerous. They can move very fast. We need to get clarity on that and see where it is at.

The other issue is in regard to children. The point is well made that if children learn at the right age, they will become advocates for everybody. That is something we need to be doing more of. For most children who grow up on a farm, their big ambition is to do the work they see going on around them. They want to be the ones pushing in the silage, handling the cattle and doing these things. From a very young age they are trying their best to be that. I have had family members who were injured by machinery and it has been my experience that the thing they have done a thousand times and got away with catches them once. In regard to safety measures on vehicles and the mechanisms that are in place to ensure accidents cannot happen, what more can be done? What can be done to make older machinery and equipment more safe than it is at present?

William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I welcome all our guests today and especially welcome Ms Rohan. I know Brian would have loved to be here today as well. You are from Laois the same as I am. I remember well getting a phone call about Brian's father Liam. I was young at the time. I clearly remember saying it could not be him because he was so safe. He was so tidy on his farm. He was just one of that type of people and he would be the last person you would expect it to happen to. Leaving that aside, on behalf of farmers out there and on my own behalf, I thank you for all the good work you are doing. Embrace FARM is creating great awareness and giving comfort to families. I go to the remembrance service and see the comfort and the sadness in people's eyes going up to put the name of their loved one on the list. I see the sadness going down and the relief coming back. I acknowledge the great work you do and long may you keep it on. It is not just for accidents. I was really taken aback to see my friend Tom Fingleton's wife there with a little baby. That was tough. I knew Tom. He died from an illness that caught him very quick. His wife was expecting a baby. The first time I saw her was with the little baby. That is really tough.

I want to thank all our guests for every little thing they do. Every little bit of information or advertisement that the insurance companies do is a help to everybody. It is all change. When I was a little fella, I got tossed with a bull. I was lucky. I was somersaulted. That is how naïve I was. That is neither here nor there. The witnesses are in a position to call out things that they know are causing accidents.

It is difficult for us. We are chastised. I am not afraid to say I feel this is causing a lot of accidents. I have stopped it myself in the van and the tractor. I do not know what we can do. I am more afraid of young lads in tractors than I am at their age of driving. Every young fella is driving. It is a thing where fathers let their kids up and shove them in beside them, and they might be only ten or whatever. I am just making the point that we all wanted to drive as kids. I thank the witnesses for coming in today.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy might want to give the witnesses a chance to answer. There is a lot to cover there and we will need to extend the time for it.

Ms Norma Rohan:

I will make one comment on everything that was said, which were all great ideas and examples of what happens on our farms today. In the vein of the Deputy saying we need to call out what is happening, from our point of view in this sector trying to help save farmers' lives and keep them going, the disjointedness of funding, regulation, legislation, whose responsibility it is, what Department it is in and which Minister has responsibility for it is our biggest frustration. I am calling that out in the sense of asking who will take it on and value the farmer's life and their family. Who will stand up and do that in the Government?

Ms Tara Farrell:

A common word I have heard in the past half hour is "luck", and that is not a word we should be using in the context of farm safety. Yes, it is an agricultural concern but we are talking about a rural development issue. This is about sustainability and community well-being. In this past half hour, we have already heard about the devastation preventable accidents cause in communities - psychological, financial and emotional devastation. I join in that call and echo what Ms Rohan is saying. We need ring-fenced, solid structures to be able to continue the work we are doing.

Ms Alma Jordan:

On the area of media, we talk a lot about changing the culture and the behaviour. What we need to do is denormalise our attitudes towards risk. The mainstream media and social media are key in all of this. All too often I see posts of children as young as nine and ten years old, sometimes three and four, left unaccompanied and driving high-end agricultural machinery as if it is some badge of honour. This social media vanity over sanity really needs to be called out. I also call on people within the media, when they are sharing videos and images, to comply with the safety rules and not undermine the work of us advocates, who are working so hard to denormalise these attitudes towards risks. Not only is it extremely frustrating and upsetting but this behaviour is also triggering people who have not been so lucky and have not got away with it. They are looking at this taking place and it is a slap in the face for these poor people to see it. If you cannot do it for the advocates working on this, think of the farm families who have been left behind and are dealing with this particular loss.

Denormalising the risk is vital. I created a media charter on this, the farm safety media charter, which I have yet to launch. It is a set of guidelines the media can follow when putting images and visuals on an agricultural basis out there. We would love to launch it. It has been used for the past 20 years in the United States and I am on the child agricultural safety network leadership team there. Australia has just started doing it. We had the idea too but we are just waiting to launch it, which it is a pity. It would go a long way towards changing the culture and behaviour.

To follow up on what Ms Rohan was saying, access to funding is crucial. I hear year on year that the work I do is great and that it is where it all needs to start. Our children are highly influential in this topic. I have had children as young as four years old participate in my events, explaining to their fathers why standing in the area of agitation is dangerous or what safety sign needs to go up and where, and saying, "No, Daddy, I am not allowed on that tractor; I am only four." They are extremely influential. Pester power is key. I worked for quite a while within the green schools programme and saw exactly how influential kids can be. Social change can happen with them. It is normal and normalises with them. When it is normal with them, it is in there forever. We are looking at a socially sustainable safer future on our farms just by engaging our children. The resources I have created are simple and fun. We even have a manual where I work alongside An Garda Síochána in its community outreach programmes. We are helping it to deliver farm safety events in their own locality.

Tapping into what is already out there is key. There are many of us working in this space and bringing us all together to work in a much more fluid and proactive manner is not only cost effective but will help us see results. I was here in May 2015, very new into this game, and I was included in a Seanad report on farm safety. Many of us are still in this room today and are still having this conversation. We need to move this on. We have the ideas and resources. Help us fund what we do so the objectives and work we do, which benefits so many, can continue without any blockades or barriers.

Ms Kate Tobin:

To respond to a couple of questions directly put there, Senator Daly had a question about the introduction of mandatory training and younger drivers on tractors. For several years, and Mr. Roche can probably give more detail on this as he is a lot closer to it, we have been supporting the cost of FRS, which provides tractor training to young persons operating tractors.

With regard to the broader context of this issue, we have to operate and provide insurance in line with licensing laws and the Road Traffic Act but were there to be any changes on that, we would have to look at that as part of our insurance offering.

Regarding Senator Brady's comments on using marts for safety events, we completely agree on that. It has been one of the areas, particularly for older farmers, where we have found it useful to reach them for promoting farm safety issues. We agree there are things that could perhaps be done there. On whether we do risk assessments on farms, we have a dedicated risk management team within FBD that is concerned with farm safety. Mr. Roche leads that team and our 34-strong branch network is out meeting farmers on a day-to-day basis and consulting them on risk needs.

On Deputy Kenny's feedback on training for young people, we have mentioned FRS but I might let Mr. Roche come in on other initiatives that are there.

In respect of Deputy Aird's piece about the issues causing accidents, our own claims experience is very much in line with published statistics. We see that the most common serious accidents involve farm machinery, vehicles, falls, livestock and slurry.

Mr. Roche might add to a couple of items there.

Mr. Ciaran Roche:

Adding to that, there have been 171 fatalities within the sector in the past ten years, with 40% of those relating vehicles. It is a big focus for us. We work very closely with the farm safety partnership. We believe collaboration is important and we do this with all the initiatives we happen to be involved with.

Behaviour change is key to making a real difference in this area. When we put our national plan in place every year, we go to all the agricultural colleges and run a campaign, "Champions for Safety", asking those students to be champions for safety going forward. We have a national mart farm safety and remembrance week, which remembers all those people who have lost their lives and makes people aware of the key risks. It is an opportunity to focus on older farmers because we know that is an area they go to.

We also focus on signage. We have produced farm safety signage where the first key message it states is that the farm is not a playground. Too many children are fatally injured on Irish farms. To date, we have produced more than 100,000 of those farm signs, which are disseminated by our local offices.

With any media campaigns or competitions we are involved in, we integrate safety into everything we do with all our safety guidance.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the witnesses. I need to bring on the next group of speakers, Deputies Lawless and Cooney and Senator Lynch.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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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.

Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I thank all the witnesses for coming in. I thank them for the briefing and compliment them on the fantastic work being done. In fairness to them, they are trying to save lives. Again, we are all working in this direction. Unfortunately, we have all seen farm accidents. It is something we never want to see, or any accident for that matter, but again, unfortunately, we all know there will be accidents. The main thing is to try to prevent them and keep people alert. Behavioural change was mentioned. We all know this is not easy, and there is no point saying it is. We must, though, put more emphasis on behavioural change. We must see how we can - we might get some ideas from the witnesses - get behavioural change instilled into people. I am talking especially about middle-aged and older farmers. We are well aware many in farming are now in their 40s, 50s and 60s.

Farm Safety Week was mentioned too. We all know funding is involved in all these campaigns. To remind farmers and keep people alert, could doing this twice a year be looked at? Could it be done early in the year, perhaps, and then again when we come to the months of October and November, just to make people aware of safety when we are moving into the winter and they are dealing with cattle in sheds, etc.? Perhaps this could be something that could be looked at. In rural schools, as well, perhaps visits could be done once a year to students in transition year, many of whom we know will be coming from farming backgrounds. Maybe lessons could be taught to those young children who might then go home and talk to their parents and whatever.

My final point concerns signage around farms. During Farm Safety Week, maybe farmers could be encouraged to put up signage to keep reminding people that the main issue is behaviour. We all know this, but, as I said, it would be good if it was possible to remind people to stay alert and focused. It is not possible to prevent all accidents, but it is possible to try to keep people reminded and alert. I again thank the witnesses for the fantastic work they are doing.

Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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I thank all the witnesses for being with us today and for their comprehensive statements. As my colleagues said, this is an incredibly important issue and affects every farm family and every farm, whether they have been directly affected or just from the perspective of the importance of safety on the farm. It was mentioned - this is not a phrase that should be associated with this - that it does happen to some people and not to others.

I have a few questions. More generally, what do the witnesses believe is the most critical challenge facing farm safety now? How would we look at this from a legislative or national policy perspective? In terms of insurance, I note it was said that 41% of claims relate to vehicles. I am assuming this is the most common claim, but if it is not, the witnesses can clarify. Has a change been seen in terms of the most pertinent area of claims over the years? Has a change in the pattern been seen? Are people learning from accidents and are behaviour patterns changing in this way? I note it was said that assessments were carried out, but are there reduced premiums for farmers or farms where they have had safety training or have specific safety measures in place? Is this something that could be looked at?

Regarding farm vehicle accidents, if a vehicle is seized after an accident, is there a statistic on how many of those vehicles seized after an accident failed their suitability tests? To all three organisations, I think a job of work is to be done in terms of liaising with the local authorities, joint policing committees, etc. How would the witnesses see this working? Are any initiatives being worked on in this regard?

Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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I thank everybody for coming in. I am on a farm with four children and farm safety is a major issue. Equally, I know many older farmers are living on their own. I see this as a major issue around calving season, etc. We now also have the situation where many farmers have to go to work a full-time job, especially with the state of the suckler industry, to make ends meet. This is what they must do. We are, therefore, dealing with people who may be a little bit tired and might take a little extra chance. I would love to see more targeted TV ads on safety before calving season, when, for example, the quiet cow that has just had a calf could turn into a lunatic. It is more about the visual aspect that ensures it is fresh in people's minds. It must= be targeted. It is like what Ms Jordan said when she commented about going into schools to see kids at certain times of the year. It must be targeted to when people will have information fresh in their minds. It is the same as any farmer, and could be about baling time or whatever. It is about safety around the heavy loads tractors are travelling with, being mindful of other traffic, etc. It is about the media and the TV aspect and getting the ads out at a time targeted for all the different months. Coming up to Christmas, for example, is when farmers are most under pressure because subsidies have not come through and people are knocking on their doors. I am referring to the mental health side of things as well and having help and support out there.

Ms Rohan mentioned multi-annual funding. Has she got a figure for how much is needed? How is Embrace FARM being funded now? I pose the same question to Ms Jordan regarding funding. What funding does AgriKids need? How much would bring the organisation a step further? What is the blockage with getting into the schools, getting the story out and getting the education over to kids?

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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A lot of questions were asked.

Ms Alma Jordan:

I will start with some of the questions asked by Deputies Lawless and Cooney. Regarding marts, Carnew mart in County Wexford reached out to me a couple of years ago to do an event for kids there. Between 9 a.m. and 1.30 p.m., we had 750 children who came in on a staggered basis. They did a 40-minute session with me on farm safety. They went on then and learned a little bit about how a mart works. They were bidding, vetting and having great craic and, importantly, learning enterprise. They went on and did a bit around tractor safety and mental health and well-being. George Graham was there from Awareness Head to Toe. After getting a goodie bag, they got on the bus and went home. The next group was then coming through. It is so easy and effective. I was there, along with representatives of the IFA and Carnew mart. FBD gave some prizes for the goodie bags, as did the Irish Farmers' Journal. It was the sector working together. This point is key. Everything is out there, it just needs to be packaged correctly.

Turning to tractor driving, I have long said that we need - I have spoken about this on radio - competency-based testing before a 16-year-old gets into a 30-tonne tractor and trailer. End of story. I am never going to be okay with children in this context.

There is no point in raising the age. As it is, nine-year-olds, ten-year-olds and 11-year-olds are being given access to this machinery. The rules are that the 16-year-old gets a provisional licence and then he or she gets experience over a six-month period. They are driving the tractors legally since they were 14 years old. They have had the experience. Now we must get them to a certain standard so we at least can have some kind of appreciation that who is on the road has every right to be there. There are some kids that are pretty good drivers, I will give them that, so let us award those who can actually do it.

With regard to my funding, I had nothing in the early days. I actually reached out to the sector and engaged with different corporates. If they profited from farming and farmers' produce, they had a corporate social responsibility to give that money back in. I approached various insurance companies. Flogas has been with me now for the last five years supporting the work I do. At the moment it is working out at €2 per child so I was able to bring a farm safety workshop to them. There are some 3,500 primary schools within Ireland. I also go into pre-schools. If three-year-olds and four-year-olds are very verbal and capable of talking about cattle, shearing sheep, dosing sheep, worming dogs and everything else, they are perfectly capable of getting this information. I have the structure. I have the programme. I just need the resources to get it. I am lucky to be under the umbrella of Irish Rural Link so now I am in a position where I have the structure to scale up and grow what I have done. I have been in Europe, in America and in Northern Ireland but I created this for Ireland first and foremost. I just need help and support to get it out there. We need core funding to help us to get the job done.

On media, I always see it as a wasted opportunity. Why are farming ads not shown with each of the weather forecasts? That is the one time in my house when we are all told to shut up so they can hear what the weather is. They will not be fast forwarding, they will not be pausing and they will not be leaving the room or looking at their phones. They are engaged. That is what we need. Completely. We have it there. It takes just a little bit of common sense, dare I say, to get the message out there.

On tractor driving being taught in transition year, I am reminded that in America they have driver education in schools. Why do we not have tractor driving education for transition year students? This would be something they can bring with them as they get into the next phase. We would have a whole wonderful league of farmers ready to tackle silage season, hay season, harvest season and every other season around it.

Ms Norma Rohan:

Senator Lynch asked what is the most critical challenge around this sector. I allude back to what Deputy Lawless said about the responsibility being on farmers' shoulders in the context of tractors. This is not just a farmers' problem. This is an issue for everybody in the sector, including legislators and private companies, as well as all of us sitting around here. It is about a joined-up and cohesive approach. Whose responsibility does it fall under within government to create the policies and to create the legislation? When we talk about tractor driving and safety, it goes from one to the other. Who is pushing it? Whose responsibility is it? That has to start at the top to work its way down. None of us down here can do it unless it happens up there.

There was a question about our funding from Deputy Newsome Drennan. We rely on the generosity of companies like FBD, among many others in the corporate sector, who are giving back to their corporate social responsibility. Is that enough to keep us going? We operate on around €400,000 a year to run Embrace Farm. We currently we have €220,000 in the bank account so I have no line of sight after next January. That is how we operate. It is through the goodwill of our community fundraisers and all that kind of stuff. In order to keep going and provide the support we do when bad things happen on farms, I need core funding. I need sustainable funding and it needs to come from somewhere. We work hard at this. It is Ms Kenneally's primary job as our development manager. She works hard at that every day, but it takes away from our core work.

Ms Catherine Kenneally:

One thing I hear constantly is about tractor driving and safety, but what is being forgotten is the farmer and the farm family. It is a holistic problem. I am aware that mental health will be coming up in the next session today, but it and farm safety should really be addressed together and not separately.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I want to give FBD an opportunity to respond on those issues. Senators have a vote.

Ms Kate Tobin:

I will address some of the direct questions before Mr. Roche comes in on where we see the most critical challenges facing farm safety. The work of the farm safety partnership has highlighted those challenges and has a programme of work in place around them.

Senator Lynch asked whether we have seen any changes in patterns over the years. Generally what we see from an insurance perspective are accidents. We saw very high levels of accidents and high numbers of claims around ten years ago with some 1,000 accidents a year. We have seen that reduce and it is now in the region of 800. Some of this is down to the work of the groups here today. That figure is still quite high. I am not saying that this is a full achievement but we have certainly seen a reduction over time.

With regard to premium differentials relating to farm safety, we generally do not penalise farmers in terms of farm safety. We probably see it as a much more important investment to put the money into behavioural change in a more widespread perspective. Accidents can happen even on the most safe farms, so it is just about trying to address it in that way.

There was a specific question around seized vehicles post accidents and if they had they failed their test. I would not have statistics on that in front of me. Perhaps this is something we can look at and revert to the committee on it.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Will FBD forward this on to the committee?

Ms Kate Tobin:

Yes, if we have it. I will have to take a look and see if we have that information.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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If there are a large number of questions and we are very tight on time, the witnesses might send anything that is unanswered to the committee afterwards.

I have just one very brief question, to take it in a slightly different direction, which is about skin cancer. We have all experienced the wonderful sunshine today. Farmers are working outdoors in all kinds of weather. Is any effort being made to promote safer and healthier skin care opportunities for farmers in the context of skin cancer and sunscreen? We very see sales reps going around to farms selling chemicals to the farmer for cleaning the parlour, but there is not necessarily any focus on the farmer. Is there any promotion, or have the witnesses seen it anywhere, on farm safety in relation to skin cancer and sunscreen?

Ms Alma Jordan:

When we attended the Teagasc dairy day in Fermoy last week, it was wonderful to see SPF dispensers. These were all around the field where farmers could actually put it on. It is about the normalisation of looking after your skin. The Irish Cancer Society is very active at this time of year giving statistics and tips. The Irish Cancer Society runs a safe sun campaign at these times of the year. Within AgriKids we have a module on farmer safety and well-being, including a lot around diet, rest and skin care. So we are starting them young.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the witnesses. I appreciate there are questions that members wanted to get answers on. We are tight on time. Will the witnesses please send to the committee information on anything that was unanswered? We will be able to take it into consideration in our deliberations. Our discussion on mental health and farmer well-being is scheduled for 4.30 p.m. I thank the witnesses for their contributions and insights. I thank members for their questions. We need to suspend the meeting to bring in the next group of witnesses.