Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like other speakers, I welcome this important provision in the Finance Bill and congratulate the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, for the work that they put into it. It is long overdue and, as other speakers have pointed out, there is still more to be done, especially the updates to machinery that are simple to apply and do not take even a day to be fitted to be made workable. One or two things come to mind, such as some of the power take-off, PTO, shaft covers that are still operational which are very difficult to put in place, especially if one person is doing it, which are vital to the safety and maintenance of the machine.

I also refer to the difficulty with animals. Animals with which the owner is familiar may well be easy and safe to deal with in ordinary circumstances, but circumstances sometimes change, and with that the animal's attitude may change too. Without delaying the House, I ask that an awareness campaign be mounted alongside the legislation to ensure that farmers, as other speakers have said, can readily recognise the dangers of working alone and the need to make provision for modern communications in the event of an accident. We have all heard and dealt with various horrific accidents over the years that have cost the owner of the farm or the person running it a significant amount, through disability and reduction of output, and have made them dependent on others.

I congratulate all involved in this particular provision. It is well worth doing and was in need of doing for some considerable time. I hope it will be taken on board by everybody operating machinery and dealing with animals, including those who may find themselves confronted by a stray animal or by an animal on land during hunting time, or whatever the case may be. All animals are unpredictable and need to be treated as such.

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