Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support the excellent work that is being done as a result of the publication of this report. I welcome the Minister to the House and I thank him for taking the time this afternoon to listen to contributions from the various Members to the debate on this motion. I compliment Senator Denis O'Donovan, the Chairman of the Seanad Public Consultation Committee. I also compliment the rapporteur, Senator Martin Conway, who was probably the first to raise the issue of farm safety in the House as a result of an unfortunate death in County Offaly.

As we discuss this issue, our thoughts are with the families of all those who have lost loved ones throughout the country in recent years as a result of farm accidents. As previous speakers said, the farm has turned out to be one of the most dangerous places in which to work and make a living. It is timely that we are having this debate on how to better educate people and raise awareness of the issue of farm safety. Unfortunately, we all know somebody who has been seriously injured or lost their life as a result of a farm accident. I have a friend, a farm contractor, who lost his leg 30 years ago as a result of an accident with a power take-off shaft, PTO. I always marvelled at how he coped. He was on his own and a long distance from the nearest house. It was only down to his physical strength that he was able to drag himself along the ground to a house, where somebody raised the alarm, and he was brought to hospital. Thankfully, he is still hale and hearty and has had a successful contracting business in east Galway down through those years. I always think of him when we discuss these issues.

The strength of this report is in the very strong recommendations it makes. I know of the Minister's keen interest in this area. He has devoted considerable time recently to publicising the need for safety on farms. Education is an important factor, and we need to talk to youngsters in primary and second schools about the importance of safety everywhere, particularly safety on the roads, safety on farms and safety at work. Education in those areas needs to be prioritised.

I am deeply concerned about the number of young people I see in charge of very large machinery, whether it is on farms around the country or on the public roads. Given the power of the machinery, it is different from the days when one would see an old Ferguson 20 on the road pulling small loads, bringing a small load of turf from the bog or carrying cocks of hay. We now have very powerful machines, and the young people who are in charge of them do not have the necessary experience and knowledge. Farmers need to take account of that and contractors need to be very wary of that also. The potential for serious injury or tragedy is very real.

In terms of raising awareness of the issue, there is a very fine recommendation in the report suggesting that well-known personalities, leading GAA figures and well-known people in our community should be used to front these campaigns, and that is happening to some extent. The more we can associate well-known figures with any particular campaign - but particularly in this area of safety, which is critical for all of us - the more we should do so.

I sat in on many of the consultations we had in the Seanad on this issue, and I want to pay tribute to all the organisations and individuals who made very fine contributions.

Another issue is the possibility of a scrappage scheme. We all remember a time, years ago, when there were a lot of clapped-out old cars and bad vehicles on the roads, which constituted a major safety hazard. As our economic fortunes improve over the next number of years, the Minister might consider some mechanism for taking some of the poor equipment and machinery that exists out of circulation. There are great opportunities for entrepreneurs to devise new technologies in the area of gas detection and ways of engineering out of the system some of the problems that are causing accidents. As well as trying to raise awareness, we can see small business opportunities for entrepreneurs in the area of safety improvement. Every business and industry is constantly looking at ways to improve technology and become safer. Much of that is done through good engineering and engineering problems out of the system.

I thank everybody associated with this fine report, including the rapporteur, Senator Martin Conway, who is on my left, Senator O'Donovan, and everybody who contributed. It is a fine piece of work and we have done the Seanad proud by producing it. Along with other speakers, however, I want to see action on it now. Some of the fine recommendations in the report must be embraced by the Minister and the various organisations and Departments in order we can make the farm a much safer place on which to earn a living, raise our families and improve agriculture. As we head into better times in agriculture, we should make the farm a much safer place.