Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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610. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on increasing the provision of farm safety education through practical skills training and continuous professional development. [13509/20]

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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With 14 fatal farm incidents to date this year, farm safety is a key priority and one of critical importance for the agriculture sector.  It should be remembered that it is the Health and Safety Authority that has responsibility for safety across all workplaces including on farms.

My Department works closely with the HSA in the promotion of farm safety and farm safety training.  To this end all applicants under the structural investment scheme or 'TAMS', are required to complete a farm safety training course before they can be paid any funding.  Additionally, all participants in the Knowledge Transfer schemes were required to attend farm safety meetings and complete annual farm safety plans.  Beyond this, over the last three years both the Agricultural Science Leaving Certificate Syllabus and the third level 'Green Cert' have been updated in respect to the training of young people in farm safety. 

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to ' Invest in enhanced farm safety and well- being measures under the next CAP'. This confirms our commitment to prioritising farm safety as a critical issue of importance to the sector in the period ahead.