Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a great privilege for me to second the motion. We often hear that reports, particularly committee reports, sit on shelves and gather dust. Even if this report was to sit on a shelf and gather dust, I still think it has been a worthwhile exercise, simply because it got a great deal of publicity in the newspapers and on radio, and Senator Denis O'Donovan and I have done quite an amount to keep a focus on the report. That in itself builds awareness. If one person, maybe a mother, is listening to this debate and if something registers in her head and she implements a change in terms of improving best practice, and if that change ultimately saves a life, then this report has been worth it. I recall speaking to Mr. Eugene Hogan, who said that if this report did nothing except get publicity and media outlets covering farm safety, it would have achieved a lot.

I stood up in the House, probably around this time last year, and proposed that the Seanad Public Consultation Committee carry out a report on farm safety. I did that because I had heard Mr. Eugene Hogan being interviewed about his brother, the manager of the under-21 Offaly team, who died as a result of a farm accident. I was so moved by his interview that I was prompted to propose the report. It has been an incredible exercise. It has demonstrated how the Seanad can be relevant to the lives of ordinary people in this country. Some significant recommendations have been made which are worthy of consideration. To be fair to the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, he has taken a personal interest in farm safety. He has already taken a number of initiatives in the whole area of farm safety. He speaks regularly on the issue of farm safety. I have no doubt he will find ways within the Estimates that he is preparing for budget 2016 to implement some of the recommendations.

We have proposed a scrappage scheme for outdated machinery, which would provide a financial incentive for farmers to upgrade and acquire safer machinery. That is an issue the Minister could consider incorporating into the Estimates for the budget. In terms of awareness, I commend all the people who made submissions, some of whom are here today, to the committee and those who came to this Chamber in March and made oral submissions. One very powerful submission came from Senator Denis O'Donovan's area in west Cork. A GAA club outlined in great detail what it had done in the whole area of farm safety. It organised awareness days and engaged with the senior county footballers and hurlers to assist on the day. Leading on from that, the committee made a clear recommendation that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine fund a farm safety officer, to be based at GAA headquarters in Croke Park, whose remit would be to roll out on an incremental basis similar programmes to that which took place in west Cork throughout the whole GAA organisation. The structure is in place. The GAA has demonstrated its capability in doing this in other areas such as inclusivity, Traveller understanding, tolerance and so forth. I think the GAA would warmly support a role for itself within farm safety. While it would cost probably €30,000 or €40,000, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine should consider, even on a pilot basis for, say, three years, funding a farm safety officer to be based in Croke Park.

Ultimately, lives will be saved if people are careful. We can have all the reports and all the recommendations we want but, ultimately, there must be a greater awareness among farm families of their own responsibilities, particularly when it comes to children around machinery and so forth.That safety message is percolating down to the farm. Farmers are now much more safety conscious than they were in the past. Unfortunately, 30 people lost their lives in 2015 but, thankfully, that figure seems to be reducing this year. One death is one death too many. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure that farms, which are homes as well as workplaces, are safe.

Approximately 400,000 people either live or work on farms. If 30 people lost their lives in any other industry there would be a national outcry. That is what we need. We need a similar approach to that being taken in terms of road safety. I know the Minister is committed to that. I would like to hear him give a commitment that he will incorporate some of the recommendations in this report, and that this report will not gather dust. We have achieved a good deal already, but there is so much more we can achieve. I look forward to the Minister giving those commitments and I know that if he does give a commitment, he will follow through on it. Let us hope he does.