A Health and Safety Authority initiative, the title of this year’s event is ‘Older, Wiser, Safer’. With someone being killed on Irish farms on average every two weeks, to mark this awareness event you are invited today to be mindful of farm safety and to remember the 180 people who have died in farm accidents in the last ten years. Farming remains the most dangerous occupation in Ireland.
Last year, there were 21 farm related deaths accounted for almost half (45%) of all work place deaths in Ireland. Poor safety around farm machinery, in particular the farm tractor, as well as risks taken with livestock, remains the main causes of death and injury on farms. Elderly farmers and young children remain the most high risk groups and most accidents occur around the farmyard. A farm safety awareness fortnight spearheaded by the Health and Safety Authority will run from the 8th to the 22nd April this year in an effort to reduce deaths and injuries associated with health and safety risks on Irish farms.
Source: National Rural Network – Farm Safety Awareness Fortnight 2013
