Dozens of deaths could have been prevented had farmers invested less than €100 in a guard that helps prevent one of the most common forms of farm accidents, an Oireachtas committee has been told.
Health and Safety Authority chief executive Martin O’Halloran told the committee yesterday that it was a “great tragedy” that so many farmers were being entangled in the power take- off (PTO) shafts that connect tractors to farm machinery.
“Year after year, we find that for the price of less than €100 to put on a PTO guard, farmers might be maimed or lose their lives,” he said.
There have been nine work- related deaths on farms this year, six involving farm machinery.