Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Michael Healy-Rae has appealed to all farmers to be more "safety conscious".

The minister, who has responsibility for farm safety, made the comments at the recent annual general meeting (AGM) of the Kerry county executive of Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).

"The worst thing that can ever happen in a family farm is that a person gets up in the morning and that they'll go away doing their days' work on the farm and they'll get hurt, maimed or worse again, be killed," he said.

"I'd ask you all, everyday of the week when you're going out, no matter what you're doing, think of safety," he added.

The minister issued a particular appeal to those who are currently assessing forestry damage caused by Storm Éowyn and to those who are currently calving cows.

"I will be listening to suggestions that the IFA and other farm organisations will have about that budget and about what would be best for farmers because it's a thing [farm safety] that I take very seriously," he said.

During the meeting, Minister Healy-Rae also offered his sympathies to the family of a man in his 60s who died last week following an incident on a farm in Mohill, Co. Leitrim.

According to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) there were 12 fatalities due to farming incidents last year, which was down by 40% on the 20 deaths recorded in 2023.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing representing over one-third of all workplace fatalities in Ireland in 2024, from a sector employing just 4% of the total workforce.