Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted we are having this debate. I am delighted that my Oireachtas colleagues in the Seanad are raising the awareness of farm safety. It is a really good forum for raising it. I thank Senator Paul Daly for raising the issue. It is really important to have a debate about it.

I work with the Health and Safety Authority on a regular basis given the remit I have as Minister of State. I have seen at first hand the professionalism of the Health and Safety Authority not just in farming, but also in the pharma and construction sectors. I am very proud to be associated with the Health and Safety Authority.

I know Senator Daly said in his introduction that this is about having a new approach. As I also come from a farming background, I am also interested in the subject. I have also taken a new approach to this and worked hand in hand with the Health and Safety Authority, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, and the farming organisations. I will say more about that later. I am passionate about this subject. I know many people who have died as a result of farming accidents, as I am sure the Senator also does. I could probably name ten people who have died as a result of a careless accident, most of the time in the blink of an eye.

The difference from the pharma and construction sectors is that those areas are regulated and controlled whereas most of the time, farmers are working on their own. It is good that most of the speakers highlighted the dangers on the farm. We are having success at this, with a 27% reduction in farm accidents last year on family farms. There was a 40% reduction in accidents in the workplace, indicating that the Health and Safety Authority policies are working. There have been nine deaths this year so far. As Senator Paul Daly has said this is still far too high and we need to reduce it further. We will do our best to ensure this. As some speakers said, farmers need to take their safety into their own hands because they are working alone.

I commend Senator Paul Daly and other Senators on the keen interest they have shown in this issue which can be very emotional. As many Senators have said too many people are killed and that is a life-changing situation on the family farm. In many cases it can result in the sale of that family farm. It is also important to mention the life-changing injuries that can happen, including people losing hands, legs and other limbs. It is a serious area on which the Health and Safety Authority is working. The Government is very conscious of the matter and I am delighted it has been raised here today.

The intention behind this Bill is clearly very well motivated in seeking to set up a farm safety agency whose principal function will be to the safety, health and welfare of persons on farms and in other agricultural places of work. However, my major reservation about the Bill is that there is already in existence an Exchequer-funded State agency, the Health and Safety Authority, which already has the required statutory functions envisaged for the proposed new agency. The remit of the Health and Safety Authority is to regulate occupational safety and health in every place of work within the State, including in farms.

Ireland’s record in respect to occupational safety and health is highly thought of throughout Europe. Ireland is one of the few member states to have extended occupational safety and health legislation and the responsibilities that come with that to include the self-employed. As a large portion of Ireland's farmers are self-employed it means that all occupational safety and health legislation is effective for all farmers.

The Bill envisages establishing a farm safety agency within the present structure of the Health and Safety Authority with its own governance obligations. The Bill also imposes an obligation on to the Health and Safety Authority to consult the new agency on any proposed regulations relating to farms or agriculture.

Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, the entity responsible for the introduction of any statutory regulation is the Minister, who must be is a position to carry out this responsibility without impediment, notwithstanding the practicality of utilising any resources available to consult if so desired.As Members will know, a large portion of occupational safety and health legislation originates from the EU. The Minister needs to introduce equivalent national legislation to give effect to the EU legislation in this State. Most of the EU legislation is applicable to all places of work, which includes farms. The consultation requirement would create an anomaly whereby the Minister might ask the HSA to produce a draft transposing text, but the HSA could not respond to the Minister without having formally consulted the proposed agency on the matter. Such a scenario would create an unhelpful and unwanted additional administrative obstacle to the successful transposition by Ireland of a piece of EU legislation.

In its annual budgeting procedures, the HSA allocates funding directly to its agricultural programme. This allows the HSA to assign dedicated personnel resources to the farming sector. In addition, other inspector, educational and promotional resources within the HSA can be used to supplement the dedicated farming sector resources. As we have all seen for ourselves, the HSA maintains a significant presence at many agricultural events, including the National Ploughing Championships. I am sure Senator Paul Daly has seen the HSA's displays and exhibitions at the ploughing championships. Having been there for the past two years, I must say that the HSA's live displays, which show the dangers associated with working on farms, driving quad bikes, working on roofs and working with animals, create a lot of attention among those who are interested in seeing how accidents happen and can be prevented. Representatives of the HSA also attend the Tullamore show and the beef exhibition that is organised by Teagasc. I have been there and seen this for myself. The HSA uses such events to interact directly with the farming community and to provide practical advice and documentation, where possible. Senator Mac Lochlainn has highlighted one of the many documents on farm safety and accident prevention that are available. Such documentation can be accessed at Teagasc offices, from the HSA and from the various farming bodies throughout the country.

I have spoken about demonstrations of good farm safety practice. The results of bad farming practice are sometimes demonstrated to highlight the devastating results and effects of farm accidents on farmers and their families. One of the most poignant moments I experienced last year was at a display of the wellington boots of dead farmers and children who were killed in farm accidents. They were displayed in a line along with the names of the people who died. I suggest that anyone who sees this display will have a greater understanding of the impact of the loss of a loved one on a family farm.

Another reason I think it is unnecessary to establish a farm safety agency is the presence of the farm safety partnership advisory committee. I do not know whether Senators are aware of the existence of this long-established committee. Senator Marshall referred to the partnership committee in Northern Ireland. The committee in this jurisdiction has over 20 members, including: representatives of farm relief services; Macra na Feirme; Teagasc; the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; professional agricultural contractors, who have an important role to play; Irish Rural Link; the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association; the Irish Farmers Association; Coillte; the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association; Carlow Institute of Technology; University College Dublin; the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health's rural industries section; Veterinary Ireland; the Veterinary Council of Ireland; Agri Aware; and the HSA. The partnership committee is very active and works really well. It reports to the HSA.

As I have said, it is important that the fundamentals of the occupational safety and health legislative regime apply to all sectors of the economy, including farming. I fear that an agency exclusively dedicated to farm safety would not change or improve the situation and could dilute the impact of the HSA's current cross-sector programmes and activities. Having said that, I accept that the level of farm fatalities is excessively high. I welcome Senator Paul Daly's desire to bring about important change in this regard. When we discuss issues relating to the death or injury of a farmer or any other worker, we must be aware that we are talking about human beings. We must not sanitise the facts by referring to cold statistics without acknowledging that behind every number there is a face, a family and a community. As previous speakers have said, 200 people have lost their lives while working on Irish farms in the last ten years. We must consider the impact of these deaths on families, friends and communities, as various Senators have outlined this afternoon.

Since responsibility for occupational health and safety was passed to me in 2016, I have been alarmed at the high levels of fatalities that occur on family farms. The number was very high in 2017, when 25 people died. That is why I met the Minister, Deputy Creed, in that year. We called together a group from all areas of the agricultural family. The purpose of this gathering was to ask the community to consider the possible interventions the Government could make to improve the situation with regard to safety. I called this meeting in the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation. Each organisation that was represented submitted suggestions, many of which overlapped or were similar. Last year, based on these suggestions, I asked representatives of various Departments to examine the suggestions to ascertain what was possible. Four specific recommendations were ultimately identified. First, it is important that there should be a requirement for farm safety training under CAP 2021. Second, dairy companies should promote farm safety training certification as part of their supply chains. Third, there is a need to ensure the HSA and the Road Safety Authority continue to work collaboratively, especially on the safety standards of agricultural tractors and quad bikes. Fourth, progress needs to be made with actions that ensure a greater use of protective head gear when driving quad bikes on family farms. All of these issues are really important.

Officials from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the HSA are working on ways to bring these policy issues into being. I will ask the HSA to use the farm safety partnership advisory committee to bring forward a new farm safety action plan as a matter of urgency. The aim of this plan will be to identify how to bring about an improved co-ordination of efforts from all stakeholders and to examine the scope for better strategic alliances. As I said earlier in this debate, during my time as Minister of State with responsibility for occupational health and safety I have found that farmers must ultimately be the main driver of cultural and behavioural change in the farming sector. Other speakers have made this point as well. Farmers must take responsibility for their own safety. In March 2017, I launched a report, Risk Taking and Accidents on Irish Farms, which was completed as part of an ESRI-HSA research programme. The report has been particularly helpful in developing a deeper understanding of the mindset of farmers. It explains why unsafe practices are occurring and what triggers risk on farms. The report highlights the significant risk associated with not getting help with difficult jobs, especially on small farms. The need to check machinery is significantly associated with accidents and near misses. Farmers on larger farms are more likely to take risks by not routinely using safety gear. The likelihood that a farmer will fail to use such gear is nearly three times as high on a larger farm of more than 100 ha than on a smaller farm of less than 20 ha.

The HSA is using knowledge transfer groups to emphasise the importance of getting help with difficult tasks on the farm. Research indicates that failing to get such assistance is associated with a higher risk of accidents and near misses. Without a change in culture and behaviour, no amount of legislative interventions will have an impact on this problem.Given the sensitive nature of the subject and the progressive spirit in which the Senators have introduced this Bill, the Government has decided that not to oppose it. However, I would add that there is a need for further scrutiny of the Bill to be carried out in terms of cost-benefit analysis and other factors. Furthermore, due to the costs associated with establishing a new agency, a money message would be required.

I thank all the Senators for their contributions to the debate today. This is a very sensitive subject. So far this year, nine people have died on Irish farms, which is far too many. Anything we can do to reduce the number of accidents on family farms is very welcome. That is why I welcome all initiatives and inputs by Senators today, particularly those of Senator Paul Daly.