Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 July 2022
62. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the work that his Department has undertaken to support increased awareness of the importance of mental health among farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38244/22]
View answerI thank the Deputy for this question on such an important topic.
This Government has prioritised farm safety, health and wellbeing. Dedicated funding of €2.25m was allocated in Budget 2022 for a range of initiatives including initiatives to support increased awareness of the importance of mental health among farmers.
My Department is co-funding, with the HSE and the Department of Health, a farmers physical and mental health awareness programme called, ‘On Feirm Ground’. This programme provides training for agricultural advisors to improve their understanding of best practice in engaging farmers with health programmes and services.
To date, over 200 agricultural advisors have been trained with a target to deliver the programme to 800 farm advisors by the middle of next year.
Last year, my Department funded eight farm safety European Innovation Partnerships (EIP’s) projects to the value of €1.8m. Of these eight projects, four are focused on mental health in the farming community.
The projects focus on addressing challenges around farm safety, health and well-being through innovative approaches which encourage a change in behaviour from the bottom up. My Department continues to monitor the progress of these projects and will study their outcome to inform future policy and initiatives in this area.
One such project is the EmbraceFARM ‘Encircle’ Programme which Minister Heydon Martin Heydon recently launched. The programme supports farm families in the aftermath of a sudden accident or trauma on the family farm.
My Department also supports the work of the HSA’s Farm Safety Partnership and was recently involved in the publication of its booklet on “Farmers’ Health and Wellbeing - A Guide to Staying Healthy While Farming”. The booklet, which includes a section on coping with stress and minding your mental health, was launched at the recent Teagasc Beef 2022.
