Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 103: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the action she intends to take to reduce the incidents of farm accidents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12236/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I remain very concerned about the level of safety on our farms. I fully support the work of the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, the statutory body established under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989, which works in partnership with the agriculture and forestry sectors to improve health and safety in farm and forestry workplaces.

I particularly welcomed the farm safety project launched before Christmas as a joint preventative initiative between the HSA and Teagasc. This three-year initiative, which aims to ensure that farmers with three or less employees complete and implement a comprehensive but user-friendly farm risk assessment, involves the provision of training at specially convened health and safety training courses for farmers and the provision of follow- up advice. This initiative is being piloted at present in a number of counties and I look forward to the evaluation of the initiative which will guide its future implementation at national level.

I also look forward to participating in this year's farm safety campaign, which begins early next month. The four themes proposed for the month by the farm safety partnership advisory committee, on which my Department is represented, are as follows. Tractor-machinery-vehicle accidents account for almost 50% of farm fatalities from 1996 to 2005. The number of fatal and serious accidents involving PTO shafts is again showing an increase. Livestock handling and falls from heights accounted for approximately 27% of farm fatalities during the 1996-2005 period. Almost 50% of farm fatalities over the last two to three years involved farmers over 65 years of age.