The Agricultural Science Association (ASA) is hosting a webinar this Wednesday, June 17, on ‘The Importance of Farm Safety for you and your family’ as part of its ASA Insights Webinar Series.
President of the ASA, Seamus O’Mahony, stated that “the agricultural sector needs to shine a spotlight on safety to ensure that it becomes a core value both on farm and in the workplace”.
He described how a large proportion of all fatal workplace accidents occur in agriculture, even though a small proportion of the workforce is employed in farming.
Safety challenges
The 45-minute webinar will include three speakers.
First up is Ciarán Roche who is FBD’s risk manager and the vice-chairperson of the Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).
Ciarán, who hails from a dairy farm in Co. Wexford, will talk about some of the safety challenges facing the agricultural sector.
30 years’ experience with the HSA
Pat Griffin of the HSA will speak on farm safety challenges. He has worked with the HSA for 30 years and is now the policy lead for agriculture and forestry safety.
Pat has a particular interest in preventing deaths in children and the elderly on farms and influencing the national and EU approach to farm safety.
Emergency responder
The third speaker is Jason Van Der Velde who is a pre-hospital emergency and critical care physician. Jason is the medical director of West Cork Rapid Response and sits on the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council of Ireland.
He will describe how responders deal with the scene of an accident, what is involved and how it could have been prevented or mitigated in the first place.
The webinar will go through strategies and rules which can be put in place to prevent accidents.
The event takes place on Wednesday, June 17, at 3:00pm and is free, but registration is essential.