The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is looking for people aged between 16 and 20 for a survey on farm safety.
The HSA Agri-Youth Survey is part of an initiative by the authority to develop a farm safety resource for young people.
Persons between 16 and 20 years-of-age who enter the survey will have the chance to enter a draw to win one of six €50 vouchers for online retail site Amazon.
The survey is comprised of 28 questions, and takes about 10 minutes to complete. An email address is required to enter the draw.
Health and safety webinar
“Europe can tell us how many cows are born every year, but they cannot tell us how many farmers are killed at work.”
Those were the words of HSA inspector Pat Griffin, who was speaking on a health and safety webinar held last Wednesday, June 17, by the Agricultural Science Association (ASA).
Griffin has worked with the HSA for 30 years and in his presentation he showed harrowing photographs taken at the scenes of fatal accidents. The fatal accidents involved farmers and family members young and old and showed the stark reality of the dangerous environment that a farm can be for those watching.
He told the audience that 214 deaths have been reported on farms in a 10-year period here in the Republic of Ireland, and worryingly a large amount of accidents have occurred in the past number of months when more people have been at home.
Pat stated that agricultural deaths are rising and that fatalities and injuries are not all being accounted for, according to his research.