The Farm Safety Partnership has launched a new Farm Safety Action Plan for 2021 to 2024 today (Monday, August 23).

The plan was drafted by the Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee (FSPAC), which advises the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).

The HSA points out that, over the last decade, more people died in agriculture compared with any other economic sector.

Of the 495 work-related fatalities in Ireland during 2011-2020, 208 occurred in agriculture, according to the HSA's 'Review of Work-Related Deaths in Agriculture in Ireland 2011-2020', which has also been published today.

51% of the worker-victims were aged 65 years or older, while 21 of the victims were aged under 18.

"Agriculture is a high-risk industry, where most are self-employed and predominantly work alone. Workers are potentially exposed to many dangers, such as large animals, heavy machinery and liquids such as slurry and gas emitting materials," the HSA said.

The aim of the new action plan is to reduce the level of fatalities, serious injuries and ill health in the agriculture sector, the HSA said. The FSPAC has identified five critical areas for attention:

Damien English, Minister of State for business and employment, said today: "The new Farm Safety Partnership...provides a broad view of the agricultural sector and will be delivering on the key areas where health and safety improvements are needed.

"This Action Plan is ambitious and achieving the objectives will be important in our drive to lowering fatalities and serious injuries," he added.

According to the HSA’s review, work-related fatalities were more frequent in spring and summer, with the highest number happening in July (34%). This pattern may be related to the intensity of farming activity during spring and summer.

Work-related fatalities involving children were most common during the summer months, particularly August (five or 24%) and July (four or 19%).

Ciaran Roche, FSPAC chairperson, said: "The FSPAC has made considerable progress in raising awareness of farm safety. There is also recognition that safety standards across the sector show signs of improvement. However, reducing the overall rate of fatal and serious injuries in the agriculture sector has been slow.

"Introducing behavioural change in relation to health and safety for farmers will be a key part of achieving a sustained reduction on the numbers of fatal and serious injuries in the sector," he added.

According to today's report, work-related fatalities in agriculture were highest in the south-west region of counties Cork and Kerry (13.7 per 100,000 employed), followed by the border region of counties Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo (8.9 per 100,000 employed).

Martin Heydon, the Minister of State for farm safety, pointed out: "On reviewing the recent HSA review, we can see that almost half of all farm deaths involve tractors and other farm machinery.

"Taking simple steps now can help make farms a safer place over the winter. I’d ask farmers to take time to consider safety," the minister added.

Both the review and the new Farm Safety Action Plan can be found through the HSA website.