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

Absolutely. My general approach is to make sure that in everything we do, we do not talk about farm safety as a separate issue. Every engagement my Department has with farmers is an opportunity to drive home the message of farm safety and to support the work of the HSA and others. I have seen from the start the opportunity CAP provides for us to incorporate farm safety across all measures in CAP to make sure it is central to what we do. I acknowledge the support of my colleague, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, in achieving the ambition that this CAP will be the most focused on farm safety, that we will take that opportunity in every engagement, including with livestock handling, which is a high-risk area, and that the new livestock schemes will have safety training elements to them such that in every involvement farmers have with CAP, farm safety will be central.

I am really conscious of the fine weather coming this weekend and that farmers in Kerry, in Deputy Griffin's constituency, will be making hay, kids will be off school, and all the risks will be there. We need every farmer to identify the risks on their farm, mitigate them and take steps to make sure we do not have further instances over the summer and into the year ahead.

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