Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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Many of the slurry facilities that were built the best part of 30 years ago are beginning to get old and the number of incidents that occur each year with slatted tanks is greater than we would like. A total of 16 farming deaths took place in 2013. They did not all involve slatted tanks and, thankfully, the number was lower than the previous two years, 21 and 22 respectively. There is insufficient knowledge and information as to what should happen if stock or even worse, a person, ends up in a slurry storage tank. It is a pretty horrific experience of which I have personal knowledge in that 13 animals went into tanks and I did not know what to do. I do not consider myself to have more or less knowledge than the average person in such circumstances but the reality is that such a situation is dangerous and there is no protocol. I would like to hear the Minister of State's view on same.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator D'Arcy for giving me the opportunity to outline the situation. The Health and Safety Authority, HSA, under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, has primary responsibility for health and safety in the workplace. The HSA is also the enforcement agency for workplace safety. It carries out in the region of 3,000 inspections annually and plans to continue with a high level of engagement during 2014. These visits are aimed at advising and educating farmers of the dangers that are ever present in the farm environment.

It is a fact that farming is the most dangerous occupation in the country, with more people killed on farms than all other workplaces combined. To a large degree, the nature of a farm is at the core of the problem. A farm is, to a great extent, seen first and foremost as a family home. This means it is seen as a place of security and welcome for family, friends, neighbours and visitors. However, a farmyard is a very dangerous place of work with large modern machinery and other dangers such as animals and extensive slurry storage areas.

The difficulty is to marry the family home part of the farm with the farmyard and other dangerous areas of the extended farm.

Last year there were 16 fatal accidents reported on farms, down from 21 in the previous year. Unfortunately, there has already been one fatality this year.

The Department is represented on the farm safety partnership advisory committee which is a sub-committee of the Health and Safety Authority. The committee advises the board on the direction the authority should take in farm safety. The farm safety action plan 2013-15 follows on from the previous farm safety action plan 2009-12 and has been developed in conjunction with the farm safety partnership advisory committee. Slatted slurry storage units are safe as long as they are designed, constructed, operated and maintained in accordance with best practice. The most dangerous time in the use of a slatted slurry storage tank is during the agitation of slurry. All animals must be removed from the building during agitation; all vents must be opened to the maximum, including sliding doors, and agitation must take place on a breezy day. Most importantly, it is critical that no person enters the building during the agitation process.

The other danger is the risk of slat failure. With slatted units it is important to ensure slats are inspected on a regular basis. They are not lifetime items and need to be replaced before they fail. Slat failure can be an expensive way to discover replacement is required. Failure can and has resulted in the loss of highly valuable livestock. To avoid broken legs or, worse still, animals or people in the slurry tanks, all slats should be carefully inspected for cracks and sagging and replaced, as necessary. Attempting to rescue animals from slurry tanks is extremely dangerous and has resulted in the loss of multiple human lives.

In November 2012 my Department, in conjunction with Teagasc, published a two page article in the Irish Farmers Journal on how to inspect cattle slats on top of a slurry tank in a safe manner. The article highlighted the importance of regular monitoring of the condition of cattle slats and the safe procedures for entering a slurry tank to undertake such an inspection. The Department has detailed specifications for the design and construction of all slatted units. These specifications detail the required safety procedures and construction standards for these units. The first section in all of the specifications documents concerns safety. All of the specifications are freely available on my Department's website to anyone who is undertaking work on the construction of a slurry store. The specifications are kept under continual review and any development in safety or construction techniques is incorporated into them.

In March 2013 the Department included a farm safety message with the single payment application packs sent to over 130,000 farmers. The leaflet focused, in particular, on the dangers of slurry gases and the safe procedures for handling slurry. This was a joint initiative between the Department, the Health and Safety Authority and the farm safety partnership advisory committee and its aim was to draw attention to the risks associated specifically with slurry gases. It is just one example of co-operation between various agencies to remind farmers of the importance of following safe farming practices and the potentially fatal consequences for them, their families and other farm visitors of lowering their guard.

There is no single solution to the problem. All relevant agencies should and, I am confident, will work with the HSA and the farming representative organisations to continue to tackle this issue. This is a good time to be a farmer. We want to do everything we can to get individual farmers to take care of their safety and that of their family and all others who visit their farms. The information is available, but we must keep working to get individual farmers to take notice and put into practice good safety procedures and routines at all times.

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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One thing that amazed me following the incident on my farm was the number of people who had said to me they had had a similar incident. To put the matter in context, on every occasion somebody enters such a tank, he or she is likely to die. That is how dangerous it is; one lungful of the poisonous gas will kill. The point I wish to make is that there is nothing in the safety guidelines regarding the use of a small breathing apparatus which is available for purchase and should be available at every tank, in the same way that fire extinguishers are available on farms and in worksheds, etc. The breathing apparatus should only be used in cases of extreme emergency and the fire brigade should be called to come with the correct breathing equipment to enter tanks in emergencies. It should be called for emergency rescues in order to ensure people will be safe. We saw what happened, unfortunately, to the Spence family in Northern Ireland. The necessary discussion on this issue has not been held. People might or might not call the fire brigade because of the call-out fee. For a very small increase in one's insurance premium, call-out fees are covered in the case of fire. They should also be covered in emergencies such as incidents involving slurry tanks. People do not have enough information on the protocol to be followed in cases where someone must enter a slurry tank. If someone's son or daughter or a member of his or her family is in danger, he or she will try to rescue him or her.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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I take the Senator's point on the need for information. Efforts are ongoing in considering how to make farms safer. There is no doubt that with modern techniques and the changeover to bigger slurry tanks which create more gas, farms have become very dangerous places. However, there are strict and clear guidelines for the spreading of slurry and agitating tanks, of which people should be aware. As in the case of sending guidelines with the single farm payment, every opportunity should be taken to provide the relevant guidelines and information.

On the new rural development programme, I have advocated for a long time that farm safety measures be included in it. We will discuss the programme in the next number of months, which will provide an ideal opportunity to ensure this happens. Too many people are losing their lives and too many injuries are taking place. If one visits any hospital in a farming area, one is almost guaranteed to meet someone in the accident and emergency unit who has been injured on a farm. This is a real problem and no stone should be left unturned in dealing with it if the Department and I are to have any input in saving lives. The new rural development programme should be seen as a vehicle that could be used to help us to make farms safer.