Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Minister of State that it is not a sign of things to come. It is great to have him here again. It is the second time I have had the pleasure of seeing him perform in the Seanad. He was here last week, I think, and was very comprehensive in his response.

The Commencement matter I have tabled concerns the need for the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation to provide an update on the efficiencies of the farm safety schemes.The Minister of State has been involved in this space for the past three and a half years. The number of unfortunate deaths is a blight on the agriculture industry, which has the highest percentage of loss of life of any industry. As a father, the frightening statistic that always gets to me is that 10% of those deaths are of children. It is a major issue that we need to start discussing. This House conducted a report into farm safety a few years ago. While that was welcome, we need to keep debating farm safety.

I will raise a few issues. This is about trying to ensure that we get appropriate coverage of the level of farm injuries and deaths. Farms have improved dramatically in this context in recent years, but the nature of farming, particularly under the new regime, sees someone out working by himself or herself. The demographics of the farming population are changing dramatically, with those involved being older. Older people's ability to get away from cattle, machinery and so on is an issue.

Something that always annoys me about the question of farm safety is that farmers have the ability to claim back VAT on everything bar farm safety equipment. If one changed a power take-off, PTO, shaft on a tractor, one could claim the VAT back. The tax code, though, does not allow for VAT to be claimed back on them on hard hats, visors or even farm safety signs. The Minister for Finance needs to examine this matter so that we have the ability to claim back VAT on those products. There are farmers whose finances are tight but who would love to do more, and giving them 23% VAT back would be a fifth or more off the original cost. We need to consider innovative approaches to encouraging farmers to do more around their farm yards.

Speaking as a farmer who works by himself when farming, the main issue is the use of a mobile phone. A farmer in a pressurised situation could ring for help. Three or four weeks ago in my parish, a farmer got into difficulty. His mobile phone saved his life. Promotions along those lines should be considered. The Minister of State has done much in this space. It is a sad statistic that so many young families are bereaved every year because of these issues. Like we all do, I look up farming websites. We read the tragic stories every two weeks. They would frighten someone as a farmer.

Today is about trying to raise awareness and get a handle on where we are with this year's figures. It is also about the possibility that we could do more in terms of promotion and awareness. We need to consider the VAT issue as well. A VAT exemption on farm safety equipment is something that the Minister for Finance should consider for next year's Finance Bill.

I would welcome the Minister of State's response to my points. I might then ask a supplementary question.