Have your say: Seanad Committee seeks submissions on Farm Safety

10 December 2014

It is estimated that Ireland has over twice the incidence of farm accidents as other European countries and 23 people, including five children, have died on Irish farms in the first nine months of 2014.

The Seanad Public Consultation Committee is now inviting written submissions from interested groups or individuals in the area of farm safety.

The Committee will consider written submissions and may decide to invite a number of contributors to public hearings, which will take place in the Seanad Chamber. When this public process is complete, the Committee intends to publish a report on the matter for the consideration of the Seanad and the Government.

Senator Martin Conway has been appointed Rapporteur to lead in the compilation of the Report.

Senator Conway says: \"According to Teagasc, over 2,000 injuries occur on Irish farms every year, making our farms and farmyards up to twice as hazardous as those of other European countries. About three quarters of these injuries are associated with machinery, livestock and trips and falls. While acknowledging the on-going work by a range of departments and agencies on the issue, the Seanad Public Consultation Committee is now inviting interested individuals and organisations for their views on how public policy can be further improved to reduce deaths and injuries on Irish farms.\"  

Seanad Leas-Chathaoirleach and Committee Chairman Denis O'Donovan says: “Farms are not only places of work but are also homes to hundreds of thousands of families across Ireland. It is vital that all risks on farms and farmyards are minimised. The Committee looks forward to hearing a range of perspectives on how the worrying trends in injuries and deaths in recent years can be improved.  The call for submissions on this important topic for rural Ireland follows a very successful series of hearings on civil and political rights, the rights of older people, curbing cancer through lifestyle changes and fostering social entrepreneurship.”

The Committee was founded in September 2011 to strengthen dialogue between Seanad Éireann and the public on a wide range of subjects in the area of public policy.

The closing date for receipt of submissions is 9 January 2015.

Have your say and make a submission.

Media enquiries to:

Paul Hand,
Communications Unit,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
paul.hand@oireachtas.ie

Members of the Committee:

Senators:

Denis O’Donovan, (Leas-Chathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann and Chairman)
Paul Bradford,
Paul Coghlan,
Maurice Cummins,
Mark Daly,
Lorraine Higgins,
David Norris,
Marie Louise O’Donnell,
Susan O’Keeffe,
Mary White and
Katherine Zappone.

Senator Martin Conway has been appointed as Rapporteur for the purpose of the Report on Farm Safety.