Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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125. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way that farm safety efforts have fared to date in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61309/22]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Acting Chair for his discretion. I want to ask about the very important issue of farm safety. Perhaps the Minister would update the House on the Department's efforts in that regard to date in 2022.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Griffin for raising this important matter. He is aware that it is an area on which the Minister of State, Deputy Martin Heydon, has done significant work since his appointment two years ago.

Farm safety is a major issue and farming continues to be the most dangerous occupation in terms of fatalities in the workplace. Fatal incidents on farms account for just over two in five of all workplace fatal incidents. Unfortunately, this year to date, there have been 12 fatalities on farms.

Data from the Teagasc national farm survey, NFS, also reveal that there are approximately 4,500 non-fatal incidents each year on farms - this is a large number - and some of them result in life-changing injuries.

The Government has prioritised farm safety, health and well-being. This is reflected in the work of the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, and the fact that the Government has assigned him specific responsibility for farm safety as part of his ministerial portfolio. He has done excellent work in this space and is playing a key role in driving a step change in our approach to farm safety.

The Department implemented a series of farm safety, health and well-being initiatives over the course of this year, utilising dedicated funding of €2.25 million. These initiatives include capital support to make farms safer, support for education and awareness by promoting farm safety practices and risk awareness to encourage behavioural change around farm safety from a young age, and support for those who have been impacted by fatal and non-fatal incidents. The measures include the investment of €1.5 million in agricultural machinery and equine simulators for use in agricultural colleges; the Agri Aware farm safe schools initiative, in which 450 primary schools and 19,500 pupils participated this year; the acceleration of wear and tear allowances for farm safety equipment; farm safety training; and joint promotional farm safety campaigns with the Health and Safety Authority, HSA.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for that update. I commend the Department, the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, who has responsibility for this area, on their efforts to date. It is fitting that special responsibility be assigned to a Minister of State. Unfortunately, the 12 fatalities this year are 12 people who will not be at the Christmas dinner table with their families in a few weeks' time. My condolences go out to the families affected.

The statistic that two in five workplace fatalities occur on farms is concerning. That message should never be lost. I tabled this question to try to keep the matter on the agenda. It is crucial. Complacency is probably the greatest enemy of them all. No one at any level, be it in the Department or on the front line on farms, should be complacent about farm safety. I ask that the Department continue its efforts.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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We will keep working on this. Under the suite of TAMS measures, grant aid has been provided for a wide range of farm safety-related investments, with health and safety guidelines included in all building specifications. This is an important step in supported on-farm investments. With the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, I will be increasing the rate of grant aid for farm safety-related investments to 60% under the capital investment scheme in 2023, subject to European Commission approval. Dedicated funding has been increased to €2.5 million in next year's budget, which will allow existing initiatives to continue and new ones to be developed to build on our efforts to improve farm safety, health and well-being.

We can and are doing more on this front. The number of deaths and injuries on farms is too high and we need to continue taking steps to ensure that incident levels are reduced. Farming is the greatest and most rewarding profession in the country, so we must do everything we can to ensure that the farm is a safe place to work.