Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

The key issue here is to get people to change their attitude. Farm safety is not like workplace safety in a factory or an office. A farm is a person's land and their home. Farmers often farm alone; 14 and 15 year olds often drive huge machinery around farmyards and across fields. They might have to hitch up trailers containing 25 to 30 tonnes of grain. Farms are family operations and we must change the attitudes in farm families towards farm safety.

When I spoke at the Women and Agriculture Conference I challenged the women. Women, mothers and wives, in particular, need to challenge the rest of their families on safety issues because often, and this is a gross generalisation, male farmers are too casual about this issue. They need to be challenged within the family and that is the most effective way to do it. We need promotional campaigns around that. The number of safety inspections on farms by the HSA this year has increased but this problem will not be resolved with a stick and inspections. It will only be solved with an attitudinal change.

Today, the Health and Safety Authority has launched a new advertising campaign which is quite dramatic in terms of reminding people about the dangers of farm machinery and livestock in particular. I commend the authority on that and I will do anything I can within the Department to add to it.

See this speech in context