The Farm Safety Partnership, an advisory committee of the Health and Safety Authority, in the Republic of Ireland has published a three year action plan to help save lives and reduce injuries on farms.

Safety

As responsible wool buyers, Standard Wool is an advocate of the Partnership’s action plan, which lays out a series of specific priorities for tackling the high rates of illness, injury and death on Irish farms.

Unbeknown to many, the farming sector is one of the most dangerous in which to work with annual fatalities in recent years as high as 50% of the overall total from a sector that employs just 6% of the workforce.

In Ireland alone this year, seven people have lost their lives in work-related accidents, whilst over the five year period between 2011 and 2015, 106 people were killed and many thousands more seriously injured.

Plan

Farmers and key farming stakeholders have come together with the Partnership to put the action plan in place, which they hope will help reduce the vast majority of accidents on farms which are preventable.

Speaking to farminglife.com, Minister for Employment and Small Business in the Republic, Pat Breen TD, said: “It is appropriate that this action plan has been developed with input from a wide range of key farming stakeholders.

“We must encourage all farmers to prioritise safety and health on their farms. There is no task so urgent or important to justify risking death or serious injury.

“The vast majority of accidents on farms are preventable and levels of awareness within farming communities are high. The key now is for farmers to put safety at the centre of their activities and take just a few minutes each day to think about what they’re doing.

“I know that farming is a very tough job and that farmers can feel isolated and overwhelmed. But this is exactly why it’s vital to set aside some time to make sure an accident doesn’t occur. I urge all farmers to think the unthinkable and Take Five Minutes to do whatever is necessary to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

The Farm Safety Action Plan 2016-2018 can be downloaded here: http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Publications_and_Forms/Publications/Agriculture_and_Forestry/Farm_Safety_Action_Plan_2016-2018.html

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