Behind every farm accident statistic is an unbearable tragedy for a family, according to a Health and Safety Training Provider, Neil Donaghy.
Donaghy has called on farmers to take adequate measures to protect children on farms over the coming weeks as the summer holidays get underway.
“Children love to play outdoors during the summer, but that also means they are more likely to be on the farm during the busiest time of year.
We should never ever forget that farms are workplaces not playgrounds and that complacency can lead to tragedy.
There were 23 fatal farm accidents involving children in the Republic of Ireland between 2000 and 2016; over the same period, six children under 11-years-old lost their lives as a result of a farm accident in Northern Ireland, according to Donaghy.
“Behind every one of these statistics is an unbearable tragedy for families. The responsibility for safety lies with farmers and it’s imperative that steps are taken to minimise the risks on the farm,” he said.
Importance of education
Donaghy believes that farmers should ensure that kids are educated about the potential dangers on a farm.
Children, whether they live on the farm or are visiting, need to know some basic guidelines and boundaries and it is important these rules are communicated in the best possible way.
“Machinery, livestock and farming processes – such as milking or harvesting crops or bailing silage – are all a source of curiosity for kids, but they all present their own risks and youngsters should never be unsupervised on the farm.
“High-risk areas such as slurry pits, watercourses or disused buildings should be fenced off.
“Providing a safe and supervised play area away from the main business of the farm is a great way of mitigating the risks,” he said.
‘Farmers need to take responsibility’
Meanwhile, farmers need to take responsibility for their own safety, according to the president of the Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) John Comer.
They need to recognise that the onus is on them, first and foremost, to ensure that no unnecessary risks are taken or unsafe practices are ignored, he added.
Comer was speaking following a meeting with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Michael Creed; the Minister of State for Employment and Small Business, Pat Breen; and farmer stakeholders on the issue of farm safety.
The prospect of this, in addition to the 12 tragedies already recorded this year, is absolutely frightening, he added.
“We can’t avoid the fact that, ultimately, this is a matter for us as farmers to face up to.
“Eight of the 12 fatalities we’ve seen so far in 2017 were farmers over 65-years-old and it should be a warning to all farm families that, as we get older, we need to recognise that we simply have to take more precautions – in particular when handling cattle and operating machinery,” Comer said.
Role of the government
The president of the ICMSA has also called upon the government to play its role; he repeated the ICMSA’s proposal that the issue of VAT on safety equipment and PTOs needs to be examined.
“In the last 10 years, we have lost 197 members of the farming community in farm-related accidents and behind that figure – shocking as it is – are 197 individual stories of suffering and irreplaceable loss.
“We need, as individuals and as a sector, to consciously take responsibility for our farms’ safety and really act on concrete measures to ensure that such tragedies are minimised, both in numbers and severity, going forward.
“Right now, we’re 10 times more likely to be killed working on our farms than any other occupation in Ireland and we have to reduce that terrible statistic,” Comer concluded.