Who is most at risk of a workplace accident in agriculture? The answer appears to be older, self-employed male farmers.

That is according to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).

Mark Cullen, chief executive officer, with the HSA, said official figures show there were a "disproportionate number of fatalities in the agricultural sector" last year.

As farmers and farm families across the country are being urged to put safety first this week the latest figures make for worrying reading.

Farm Safety Week officially kicked off today (Monday, July 20).

The annual summer campaign, which is led by the Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies) and supported by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) in Ireland, is this year focusing on "preventing harm in all its forms".

According to the Farm Safety Foundation farming continues to have the poorest safety record of any occupation in the UK and Ireland.

Cullen said the HSA is particularly concerned about the rate of fatalities among "self employed male farmers over the age of 60" in Ireland.

According to the latest HSA Annual Report the authority carried out 1,244 general inspections and investigations across the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector last year.

This in turn led to 27 improvement notices, eight prohibition notices and 559 advice letters being issued by the HSA.

Agriculture inspections

The HSA also carried out a number of specific inspection campaigns in agriculture last year including one aimed atraising awareness of safety risks in livestock marts.

Following an analysis of findings from livestock mart inspections, the HSA identified that railings in a number of mart rings did not meet the minimum recommended height of 2.1 metres.

In its annual report for 2025 the authority published details of prosecutions completed in 2025, one of these related to Bellingham Farms Unlimited Company.

The HSA outlined that on July 15, 2025, a case was finalised at Drogheda District Court during which Bellingham Farms Unlimited pleaded guilty to two charges in connection to Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013.

Bellingham Farms Unlimited was handed down two fines each of €4,000 in connection with the case.

Separately the HSA also published details of a case that was finalised at Longford District Court on October 17, 2025,

This involved an individual who pleaded guilty to two charges in relation to a farm in Co. Longford.

The individual was accused of failing "to maintain properly, or at all, a silage trailer" which they owned and had permitted the use of a tractor that was defective to tow a silage trailer.

The court heard that "a person was struck by the said silage trailer and suffered personal injuries".

The accused individual had also failed "to bring the safety statement, in a form, manner and, as appropriate, language that was reasonably likely to be understood, to the attention of anewly recruited employee upon the commencement of his employment".

The individual was fined €500.

Co. Longford farm

Another prosecution that resulted in a case before Longford District Court saw an individual plead guilty to one charge in relation to a farm in Co. Longford according to the HSA.

The case, which was finalised at Longford District Court on October 17, 2025, involved a person who "did fail to ensure so far as was reasonably practicable that the place of work, the means of access thereto, or egress therefrom, and any article or substance provided for use in the place of work, was safe and without risk to health".

The individual pleaded guilty and was fined €500.

Co. Wexford farm

Meanwhile in its latest annual report the HSA also published details of a case finalised at Gorey District Court on November 26, 2025 which involved Wheelock Farms Limited.

The authority outline that Wheelock Farms Limited pleaded guiltyto four charges.

These related to a farm at Moneyhore, Davidstown, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, where the accused "did fail to identify the hazards of working at height on the construction of an extension to an agricultural shed, assess the risks presented by those hazards,and be in possession of a written risk assessment".

It was also outlined that Wheelock Farms Limited had failed to ensure that "there were adequate and appropriate safe systems of work in place for working at height" and that no control measures had been put in place, such as a harness system, netting, guardrails, or access platforms from underneath.

Wheelock Farms Limited was fined €500.