Lorraine Higgins (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate him on his recent appointment to the post. There is no doubt he will be a great asset to the Department given his vast experience in farming and politics. I commend the Minister, Deputy Coveney, on his work on the recent Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, negotiations and the great results he secured for the country in his endeavours. Not only has he shown leadership but he is also protecting Irish farmers and their livelihoods, and that deserves to be commended.

The matter I raise on the Adjournment this evening is one most would agree is a serious and pressing issue for the farming community in this country. It deserves to be highlighted. Not alone that, but there is a need for a plan to be put in place in order that an ongoing campaign focused on farm safety would continue throughout the next few months. According to Teagasc’s safety survey findings, this country has one of the highest incidences of farm accidents in Europe. It is more than twice the European average. Farm deaths accounted for 45% of all workplace deaths in 2012.

By the Health and Safety Authority’s own estimate, during the period 2000 to 2010, 30% of child deaths on farms were caused by drowning in slurry pits. During the same period, 8% of deaths of elderly farmers over the age of 65 were caused in similar circumstances. The risks associated with slurry pits have regrettably been highlighted by the tragic deaths of the members of the Spence family last year, which we all remember.

Slurry pits represent a wide and varied danger to the safety of farmers, their families and livestock. The possible causes of harm range from drowning to suffocation from poisonous gases. As the Minister of State is well aware, a high level of gases can be released when slurry is agitated and one breath or a lungful can cause instant death but can, equally, be highly dangerous for people within close proximity if noxious fumes are allowed to linger and are not diluted by a strong wind. The reliance on wind and other factors for safety is an archaic discipline and not particularly suitable to modern day farming practices. We need ideas to address this silent killer. It is imperative that the Ministers in the Department would direct the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine to summon the necessary chemical experts before it reports on the potential for development of a chemical that might go some way towards breaking up the slurry and relieving the farmer and his family from having to engage in this highly dangerous agitation process.

I welcome the Health and Safety Authority’s educational programmes, especially for children, on farm safety, as it appears that the farm competition for primary schools is having a positive impact on children by raising awareness of the danger that exists on site. However, I would like to hear what the Department is doing to further improve safety standards for farmers and whether it provides support to farmers for ongoing safety training. We must remember that farms are family homes as well as workplaces, so it is incumbent on the Department to ensure each and every farmer in the country realises that safe farming is about protecting themselves, their families and businesses.