Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

One thing that amazed me following the incident on my farm was the number of people who had said to me they had had a similar incident. To put the matter in context, on every occasion somebody enters such a tank, he or she is likely to die. That is how dangerous it is; one lungful of the poisonous gas will kill. The point I wish to make is that there is nothing in the safety guidelines regarding the use of a small breathing apparatus which is available for purchase and should be available at every tank, in the same way that fire extinguishers are available on farms and in worksheds, etc. The breathing apparatus should only be used in cases of extreme emergency and the fire brigade should be called to come with the correct breathing equipment to enter tanks in emergencies. It should be called for emergency rescues in order to ensure people will be safe. We saw what happened, unfortunately, to the Spence family in Northern Ireland. The necessary discussion on this issue has not been held. People might or might not call the fire brigade because of the call-out fee. For a very small increase in one's insurance premium, call-out fees are covered in the case of fire. They should also be covered in emergencies such as incidents involving slurry tanks. People do not have enough information on the protocol to be followed in cases where someone must enter a slurry tank. If someone's son or daughter or a member of his or her family is in danger, he or she will try to rescue him or her.