Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 26: To ask the Minister for Agriculture; Fisheries and Food his plans to tackle the high death rate on Irish farms, which hit a 10-year high in 2010; the reason, despite the work of organisations such as Teagasc and the Farm Safety Partnership, the problem has intensified over the past decade; his views on whether legislation is required to bolster the efforts of individual organisations to make farms safer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17638/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Murphy for raising this issue. Just a week ago, I spoke at the national farm safety conference held in Roscommon. I prepared for the conference by looking at the tragic statistics that comprise the story of farm safety last year and this year. Last year 26 people died on farms. This year so far, ten people have died. Only 25 have died in the workplace this year. Therefore, approximately 40% of fatalities in the workplace occur in the farming sector, which makes up only 6% of the working population. This is a tragedy that must not be allowed to continue.

In the fishing sector, five people tragically lost their lives this year. Therefore, of the 25 or 26 people involved in fatal accidents in the workplace this year, 15 were from the farming and fishing sectors, which account for 7.5% of the working population. These are totally unacceptable figures from the perspective of policymakers, who need to make an impact.

There is a series of initiatives to address the problem. These focus on the 2006 Farm Safety Code of Practice and the work of the Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee, which involves a series of farming organisations, some of which are State bodies and farmer representative bodies and others of which are private bodies. We are supporting these initiatives.

The Health and Safety Authority, which has legal responsibility for health and safety in the workplace, is to carry out 3,000 farm inspections this year, which is more than twice the number of inspections last year, to ensure the law is being respected. All this work is irrelevant, however, if we cannot change what is inside the heads of farmers and the views of farming families on farm safety.

Farms are not normal workplaces. A farm is a playground, home and workplace and a range of other things. It is a matter of changing the mindset of farmers, in respect of which we all have great responsibility. I will allocate a certain amount of resources to effect this change. This is how we will solve the problem rather than through introducing new legislation.

Additional information given on the floor of the House

The number of farm fatalities in 2010 was 26, the highest number recorded in any year to date. Tragically, already this year ten more people have died on Irish farms. Two of these have been in the last week, both in County Limerick and both involving farm machinery, one a tractor, the other a quad. The statistics consistently indicate that the highest proportion of farm fatalities involve accidents with tractors and other farm machinery.

Just one week ago, I delivered the opening address at the national farm safety conference held in Roscommon. There was a large attendance and there was recognition of the reality that many farm safety tragedies are preventable. There is legislation in place concerning safety in the workplace under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. This Act places the same onus on farmers as on other self-employed people to provide a safe place and a safe system of work for their employees. The Act also requires farmers to complete a risk assessment and safety statement for their farm. In 2006, the Farm Safety Code of Practice was introduced for farms with three or fewer employees and requires the completion of a risk-assessment document only.

The Health and Safety Authority is the national body in Ireland with the responsibility for securing safety and health at work and it intends to carry out 3,000 farm safety inspections in 2011, which is double last year's number. There have been considerable efforts made by the Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee and the partnership member organisations on the farm safety issue with the development of the Farm Safety Action Plan 2009-2012. However, while these efforts in the context of the legislation are a necessary part of the farm safety strategy, ultimately farm safety is about self-regulation and about farmers imposing an attitudinal change on themselves. The strategy for improving farm safety has to be, therefore, fundamentally about changing attitudes through raising awareness.

Teagasc has been very active to date in providing farm safety training to farmers nationwide and has also delivered farm safety training to more than 100 agricultural consultants. My Department is very strongly committed to promoting farm safety in tandem with the HSA. Health and safety guidelines are included in all building specifications drawn up by the Department. Farm safety is included in all REPS training courses. There is a farm safety element in the dairy efficiency programme for the period 2010 to 2012. This is especially relevant because the dairy sector consistently has the highest number of farm fatalities out of all the farming enterprises. Farm safety is also given a prominent place on my Department's website, which outlines the requirements on farm safety and provides practical advice on safety on farms.

My Department is represented on the Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee and will continue to support and work with the HSA and the other partners in achieving the goals of the farm safety action plan, to reduce fatalities and accidents on Irish farms.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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I was shocked when I read the report of the Health and Safety Authority. One assumes the risks are greatest in industrial environments or building sites. I was shocked to see the number of deaths on farms and the increase in that number. One of the senior inspectors predicted last week that a file could be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions after every farm fatality. He also referred to enforcement notices.

Does the Minister believe there is under-reporting of accidents on farms? I read somewhere that the number of farmers who speak of near misses with livestock is extraordinarily high. Livestock and machinery pose the greatest risks. Does the Minister believe legislation is required on quads, which are being used increasingly frequently on farms? There appears to be a difficulty in this regard also.

I totally agree with the Minister that a change in culture is essential. I live in Leixlip just beside the Intel plant. The lengths to which such a company goes to ensure a culture of safety on-site are extraordinary. We need to change the mindset if we are to address the issue substantially.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I agree with everything the Deputy said with perhaps one exception. I do not believe we need to go down the route of sending files to the DPP. I should have stated at the outset that some people listening to this debate may have lost a brother, a father or a child this year or last year and these are scars that will last a lifetime. We need to be conscious of this when we speak about statistics; it is far too crude a way to speak about people's lives and the tragic stories of so many of our farming families who have suffered fatalities. This is about trying to force a change in attitude rather than trying to impose legislation on families after something has occurred.

However, the Deputy is correct that there is under-reporting of accidents in the fishing and farming communities. We know this and it needs to change. Often, people on farms, whether a 16-year-old driving a tractor pulling 30 tonnes of grain through a field or into a yard or someone feeding a suckler herd with a bull in the field, do not consider themselves to be in a workplace as such. Serious dangers are attached to a farming lifestyle and workplace. We are not making an adequate impression on changing attitudes towards this threat to people's health and lives. We need to work much harder on this. The tools the Department is using include introducing a farm safety element to REPS training courses and to the dairy efficiency programme, which involves dairy farmers meeting in groups up to 8 times a year. Most fatalities happen in the dairy sector although there are only 17,000 dairy farms out of 130,000 farm families. We need to target this.

We should not go down the route of trying to introduce more legislation and blunt enforcement through farm inspections. Although this is necessary, ultimately it will not change an attitude which needs to be changed in the farming and fishing communities.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The time for the question has expired.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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May I ask a further supplementary question?

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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There is only six minutes for each question. I ask for co-operation through shorter questions and answers.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I will try to bear this in mind.