Farmers urged to review safety hazards on their farms
As Farm Safety Week continues, farmers are being asked to review potential safety hazards on their holdings.
Now in its 14th year, Farm Safety Week has grown into one of the farming sector’s largest safety awareness campaigns and is backed by more than 500 partner organisations across the UK and Ireland.
The campaign, which began on Monday (July 20), is led by the Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies) and is supported by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA).
The focus of Farm Safety Week 2026 is people, because every incident changes a life and many farming families are living with life-changing impacts of serious injuries.
Safety
Speaking in support of Farm Safety Week, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon said:
"Farming has a poor safety record, accounting for almost 40% of all workplace fatalities over the past decade.
"This brings home the importance of taking all necessary steps to ensure farms are safe for everyone who comes in the gate.
"I am urging farmers to take the time to review their Farm Safety Code of Practice and carry out any necessary maintenance and repairs without delay."
The minister said farmers should ask themselves if they are doing enough to prevent an incident on their farm and what changes they should make to improve safety.
"This includes looking at daily routines, identifying essential repairs and maintenance and specific training needs, such as quad training," he said.
Hazards
Minister of State with responsibility for Forestry, Farm Safety and Horticulture, Niall Collins noted that farm vehicles and machinery, livestock and falls from height account for most fatal and non-fatal incidents on Irish farms.
"Every farmer must get into the practice of doing a walkaround check every morning before using farm vehicles and machinery.
"Sometimes simple actions like cleaning windows and adjusting mirrors to improve visibility may be all that is needed to ensure that farm vehicles are ready for the day’s work ahead," he said.
Minister Collins said farm families should "always be vigilant around livestock as even 'quiet' animals can be unpredictable".
"Every farmer must take extra care during the summer months when children are on holidays and where many of us are out and about enjoying the countryside.
"I urge parents to keep children away from work areas and to be safety conscious over the summer," he added.
Investment
Minister Collins said that where financial investment is needed to improve safety on the farm, the department is providing several supports to assist farmers.
This includes the Farm Safety Capital Investment Scheme (FSCIS) under the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes (TAMS 3).
The National Farm Safety Measure also provides grant aid at a rate of 60% subject to a maximum eligible cost of €100 per power take-off (PTO) shaft for a maximum of four PTO shaft covers.
The Acceleration of Wear and Tear Allowances for Farm Safety Equipment Scheme provides for the accelerated capital allowances of 50% per annum over two years on qualifying farm safety equipment.
This includes cattle crushes and races, sliding or roller doors for agricultural buildings, and adaptive equipment such as modified controls to enable full hand operation of a farm vehicle.
