Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Griffin for raising what is a crucially important issue for us and a very timely one in light of the fact that next week is Farm Safety Week, when we bring an additional focus to the need for farm safety and for a change in the culture across how we operate on our farms and the unacceptably high level of farm fatalities on Irish farms.

To highlight the importance of farm safety, the Government, as part of my ministerial portfolio, assigned me specific responsibility for farm safety, and I am very proud to be the first Minister of State with such a responsibility. It is a key indication of the Government's determination that in our programme for Government we put a renewed focus on this area. As Deputy Griffin will be aware, over the past decade, 21 people on average have lost their lives on Irish farms every year. Recently, I attended the Embrace Farm service, and when you hear the individual stories and see the pictures of those who have lost their lives, from very young children all the way through the generations of farmers, it is absolutely heartbreaking and completely unacceptable. When you remember that 50% of workplace fatalities are attributed to agriculture, which makes up only 6% of the entire workforce, it is clear we are a complete outlier and that a change of culture is badly needed.

That is why my Department has a range of measures both in place and being put in place by me to incentivise and promote farm safety. First, there is the ongoing TAMS II scheme. Under the suite of seven TAMS measures, there is a wide range of farm safety-related investments available to be grant-aided. As part of the TAMS II schemes, health and safety guidelines are included in building specifications drawn up by the Department for the construction of agricultural buildings and structures. Additionally, it is a requirement for all applicants under the TAMS II schemes to complete a half day of farm safety training. We get really good feedback on that. Farmers may not be too enthusiastic going to the training but find great benefit in it afterwards. In my follow-up reply I will outline further some of the new measures we are bringing into place. This is about taking every opportunity, engaging with farmers, to continue to raise this really important issue.

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