Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Seanad Éireann notes the report of the Seanad Public Consultation Committee, entitled Report on Farm Safety, which was laid before Seanad Éireann on 26 May 2015.

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to the House for this important debate.

This issue of farm safety is not about us versus the Minister. The way to go is via cohesive policies and creating awareness. Hopefully, the report the public consultation committee produced will shine a light and focus on the tragedies on farms. Not alone are farms places of work, but they are also homes. Unfortunately, in my county we have suffered a greater share of tragedies per capitathan other parts of country in the past 12 or 18 months. It was regrettable that on the day we launched the report there was a two-year-old boy being buried in Schull and another person in Cavan. It was poignant.

It is a question of trying to create awareness. Farm safety is an issue of growing concern due to the increase in tragic deaths last year. This is particularly important as the summer period is now in full swing and more children will be spending time on the farm when schools are closed, etc. The Government must continue to support information and best practice health and safety campaigns and look to tackle the most vulnerable groups, such as the young and the elderly.

It is tragic that there were 30 fatalities in the agricultural sector in 2014 representing over half of all work-related deaths, while farm fatalities increased by a massive 87% in 2014. Despite the number of farm deaths in 2014 being the highest in over 20 years, it is troubling to hear from the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, that it is cutting the number of farm inspections again this year. Funding for inspections has been cut significantly in the past three years, with a 55% reduction in funding in 2014 compared with 2012.

I have to be careful here as well. With farm inspections, we need a balanced carrot-and-stick approach. There is the issue of coming in heavy on farmers. Farmers, as Senators will be aware, operate in an over regulated sector already and the HSA must be sensitive to this. An approach by way of education and farm walks, and a little more carrot than stick, might be the way to go. I read today in the Irish Examinerthat there were 300 fewer farm inspections but I understand that there is a reduction in farm fatalities this year, and, hopefully, that will continue.

Also troubling in the report is that we learned that children and those over 65 are the most vulnerable. The statistics bear out this sad and tragic finding. We looked at the Health and Safety Authority farm statistics which show that farmers, who account for 6% of the workforce, recorded almost 60% of workplace fatalities in 2014. It was the worst year on record.

The Health and Safety Authority is doing a good job. It is probably not a pleasant job. In 2014, there were over 2,000 inspections, which is a significant amount. I also compliment all the major farming organisations, such as the IFA and the ICSA, which are doing tremendous work within their organisations in keeping a focus on farm safety and I noted recently, both on radio and television, the continual advertisements to be careful working on the farm when children are around.

It is also important that I welcome some of those who contributed to the public consultation some months ago.Representatives from Embrace FARM are present. I was glad to attend an ecumenical service on a Sunday afternoon in Abbeyleix about four weeks ago, which was very poignant. The Minister was present. It is important that public representatives stand in solidarity with the groups who are trying to show respect for those unfortunate people who have lost loved ones in farm accidents. A member of Teagasc is in the Visitors' Gallery, as well as Mr. Patrick Duffy, the young man from Monaghan who developed an interesting board game to teach young people about farm safety, along the lines of Snakes and Ladders. If one does the correct things on a farm, one moves up the ladder, and if one makes mistakes, one will slide down the snake, so to speak. Also in the Visitors' Gallery is Mr. Vincent Nally, from Irish Rural Link, and representatives of Professional Agricultural Contractors of Ireland, Mr. Tom Murphy and Ms Brigid Cunniffe. I will not drag out the debate. The important point is that we need this debate on the whole area of farm safety to maintain the focus on this terrible tragedy. Statistics show that a total of 26 people were killed by farm animals - cattle, horses or bulls - in the period 2005 to 2014. I am the son of a farmer and grew up on a farm. However, one has to be extremely careful with animals at all stages. Even cows, which sometimes look docile, if they have just calved or have a young suckler calf with them, can get agitated and may react and become dangerous.

The number of deaths due to accidents involving tractors and farm vehicles in the period 2005 to 2014 was 57. Almost 75% of those 57 people were killed by being crushed. In that regard, it is important to take extra care with farm machinery. The number of deaths of farmers aged over 60 years in that period was 70. It is sad that children die on farms, and in that period 22 children were killed.

I pay tribute to the rapporteur, Senator Martin Conway, and the Leader, who set up the Seanad Public Consultation Committee. Sometimes we are criticised for not doing enough, but this is an area on which the committee has focused. We invited interested parties to come on board. If there is one thing we have achieved, I hope it is that we have maintained the focus for this year and the coming years on safety on our farms, which are also our homes, and vigilance with small children. We can never eliminate human error, but if we can save one life in 2015 or 2016 as a result of this report, or significantly reduce severe injuries - some people have lost limbs in farm accidents - it will have been worthwhile.

Many people will not have heard of a furze machine. We used to feed furze to horses in the winter. I almost got my hand chopped off using one. People on farms must be extremely careful.

I am pleased the Minister is present to take the debate. I look forward to hearing what he has to say. This is not a political issue; it is above politics. The Minister is doing an extremely good job in the area of farm safety. The Government agencies are working hard on it and we are all in unison in trying to save even one life this year, and maybe two next year, and trying to reduce the number of appalling injuries. Any small advance we can make is worthwhile.

I was elected on the Agricultural Panel. We are cognisant of what our farm families and communities are going through. It is a terrible burden on somebody when a neighbour, a friend or a child is killed. It leaves a mark on that community for many years. I recommend the report to the House and look forward to a full debate.