Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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52. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps which are being taken by Teagasc, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the HSA to address the increasing trend in farm fatalities and accidents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27976/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The agricultural sector remains one of the most dangerous sectors in which to work in Ireland with over 200 fatalities having occurred in that sector in the last 10 years despite the fact that only 5% of the workforce are employed in agricultural sector. There have been 13 fatalities in the sector in Ireland so far this year.  

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA, is adopting both a prevention approach and an enforcement approach in relation to improving safety on farms.  

The “prevention approach” seeks to involve all stakeholders in the development and provision of sector specific information and guidance on all major areas of risk in farming. This is being primarily rolled-out through the Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee which is an advisory committee to the HSA. Membership of the Farm Safety Partnership is drawn from all of the main farming organisations such as IFA, ICMSA, Farm Relief Services, Macra na Feirme, Teagasc, Irish Cattle and Sheep Association, Coillte, Farm Relief Services Network, Irish Rural Link etc.  

Its current Farm Safety Action Plan runs from 2016 to 2018 and has set out six goals as follows:

- To achieve cultural behavioural change in health and safety of persons working in the agricultural sector through Research, Education and Training;

- To develop programmes which will foster Innovative Approaches and deliver Engineering Solutions to reduce the risks to persons working in Agriculture;

- To reduce the level of death and injury arising from Tractor and Machinery use;

- To establish initiatives to reduce the level of death and injuries arising from working with Livestock; 

A cornerstone to the prevention approach is the Farm Safety Code of Practice (Code of Practice for Preventing Injury and Occupational Health in Agriculture) which is a simplified approach to on-site farm management of occupational safety and health. This Code of Practice has recently been updated by the HSA to reflect modern farm risks. Access to quality assurance schemes and farm modernisation grants, available from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, are now being linked to compliance with this Farm Safety Code of Practice.  

In addition the Farm Safety Partnership has developed extensive user friendly guidance on all farm safety issues which is being brought to the attention of farmers through farm walks, Knowledge Transfer Groups, articles in the farming media and through farm TV at all major marts, through major events such as the Tullamore Show & National Ploughing Championships as well as dedicated farm safety campaigns.  

The enforcement approach by the HSA involves farm visits and inspections to assess compliance standards. These inspections are being carried out throughout the year but particularly during three targeted inspection campaigns in 2017. The March campaign focused on Livestock Safety, the recent May campaign focused on Tractors & Machinery and the forthcoming November campaign will focus on Falls from Height and Falling Objects. These visits and inspections are carried out in a cooperative approach seeking buy in from the farmer on the fundamental importance of safe farm practices. These inspections are well received even though in about 50% of inspections some level of enforcement action will be taken by the inspector. These include written advice, legal Improvement Notices and Prohibition Notices all of which legally must be complied with.  

In addition to the activities of the HSA my colleague the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has advised me that Teagasc is also re-focusing its efforts to assist the farming community to improve safety standards in the following ways;  

- Teagasc Advisory and Education and Training staff  are highlighting the current trend in fatal farm accidents at all Teagasc events and classes and highlighting preventative measures;

- Teagasc recently provided training on farm health and safety to all Knowledge Transfer Programme Facilitators operated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. This training was conducted in association with Health and Safety Authority staff and focused on adapting farms to make them safer places in which to both work and live;

- Teagasc provides an on-going programme on Occupational Health and Safety which includes Research, Advisory and Education and Training components and is conducting  a national survey of farm accident levels to gain knowledge on the level of non- fatal farm accidents;

- Teagasc issues media releases, and monthly newsletters to keep farmer up-to-date with current health and safety trends and practices;

- Teagasc will include a major health and safety exhibit at the upcoming National Dairy Open Day on 4th July at Moorepark Dairy Research Centre (Cork) 

Both the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D. and the Minister for Small Business and Employment, Pat Breen T.D., recently convened a meeting of the main farming representative organisations to express their concern at the ongoing high level of farm accidents and deaths and to call on the farming community to collectively, and individually, re-double their efforts to reduce and eliminate farm accidents and fatalities.  

It was agreed at the meeting that it is farmers themselves, along with their families and their Communities, who can play the most vital role in putting adequate farm safety measures in place in the first instance. All attendees were invited to submit proposals and suggestions on cross cutting actions that can be taken at farm level to complement the work being done by at a national level by the HSA and Teagasc and on how attitudes and behaviours can realistically be changed to ensure that health and safety considerations in farm work become much more prominent, automatic and widespread.