Provisional data from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) shows that 20 people lost their lives in work-related incidents in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector in 2023.
According to the HSA, farming accounted for 16 of these fatalities.
The data reveals that half of those who lost their lives in work-related incidents in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector were aged 65 and over.
Cork was the county with the highest number of fatalities in this sector, with five work-related deaths in 2023.
A HSA spokesperson said that the breakdown of work-related fatalities last year is representative of data on December 31, 2023 and is “subject to retrospective changes”.
HSA
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has said that farming remains the most dangerous sector in Ireland with 191 fatalities recorded on farms between 2013–2022.
Farming was the sector with the highest number of work-related fatalities in 2022 with 13 deaths.
There were nine farm fatalities in 2021, a reduction of more than 50% on 2020, when 20 people lost their lives.
Overall, there were 27 lives lost in work-related incidents across all sectors in 2022, which is the lowest number on record since the HSA was established in 1989.
The HSA noted that vehicles and machinery are involved in the highest number of farm fatalities in Ireland.
In the past ten years, they accounted for 52% of all farm deaths and 8% of all injuries on farms.
Over the past decade there have been 10 farm fatalities involving quads, of which two were under 18 and six were over 65 years of age.
Last November, new regulations around the safe use of quad bikes in Ireland came into force making it compulsory for all quad bike operators to wear a helmet.
The regulation, which is the first of its kind in the European Union, also means that anyone using a quad has to complete an all terrain vehicle (ATV) training course provided by a registered provider to a Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) standard or equivalent.