FOUR RECENT farm deaths could mean last year’s record number of deaths on farms will be exceeded in 2011, farmers were warned yesterday by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton.
Mr Bruton, who is responsible for workplace safety, said six of the 18 Irish workplace deaths reported so far this year were on farms. “Farming is the most dangerous of all sectors, and we have seen four people killed on Irish farms in the past eight weeks,” said the Minister.
“If the accident rate continues at this pace, 2011 will be yet another year with a tragically high accident rate on farms. I urge all farmers to keep their safety and that of their families in mind at all times.”
Mr Bruton said he intended to call farming interests together in the near future to discuss farm safety and to encourage them to continue to spread the farm safety message.
Joining in the appeal, Martin O’Halloran, chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority, said all of the fatal accidents this year on farms have involved machinery or livestock. These two areas, along with drowning, had been responsible for the majority of deaths on farms in the last 10 years.
IFA president John Bryan also expressed safety concerns. “I am appealing to farm families to review and strengthen their safety procedures following four fatalities in recent weeks,” he said.