The level of safety awareness on Irish farms has increased significantly, the Health and Safety Authority said today.
More than one in ten farms had a Safety Statement in place, a figure which represents a significant increase over previous years, the Authority said.
But releasing the findings of its campaign of farm inspections carried out during Farm Safety Action Week last April, the Authority warned there is much work needed to ensure farms are safe places to work.
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The HSA's Senior Inspector for Agriculture, Mr Aidan McTiernan, said "the experience of the Week has been very revealing and has shown that the message is getting through."
"Farmers are more aware of safety issues than ever before, and the increase in the proportion of farms with Safety Statements in place is encouraging", he said.
A total of 274 visits were carried out during the week with farms being randomly selected from a database for each county.
But Mr Mc Tiernan warned: "In the past ten years, there has been a staggering number of deaths of young children as a result of asphyxiation and drowning when they gain entry to slurry tanks and pits.
"To prevent this type of accident happening, farmers need to stop them getting into such areas. Never underestimate their curiosity or their ability to get into seemingly inaccessible places".
During Farm Safety Action Week 46 Prohibition Notices were served which required the immediate stoppage of particular work activities or, in the case of machinery not in use at the time of the visit, prohibited their use until such time as they were made safe.
"I can assure farmers that each and every enforcement notice served by our inspectors is being systematically followed up, and where we see cases of non-compliance, we will not be slow to use the powers available to us to ensure safety standards are improved".