Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 October 2023
104. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the sexual and mental health supports he has put in place for young farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47006/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI thank the Deputy for this question on such an important topic.
The safety, health and wellbeing of our farmers is a priority for this Government. This year, dedicated funding of €2.5m was allocated for a range of initiatives that included support to promote increased awareness of the importance of health and wellbeing among the farming community.
My Department, along with the HSE and the Department of Health, is co-funding a farmers physical and mental health awareness programme called ‘On Feirm Ground’. The programme provided training for agricultural advisors to engage with and signpost farmers to supports in relation to all areas of health and wellbeing. The new On Feirm Ground 2 programme, launched recently by my ministerial colleagues, Minister of State with responsibility for Farm Safety Martin Heydon, and Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Hildegarde Naughton, will be rolled out to farm advisors, private veterinary practitioners, Department staff and other professionals who work with farmers and are ideally situated to signpost farmers to relevant health services.
My Department provided funding to eight European Innovation Partnership projects to the value of €1.8m, including four projects that focused on farmers’ mental health. Additional funding was made available earlier this year to extend these projects.
I have also provided support for research into farmer mental health. The DCU led FarmHealth Research Project is examining farmers mental health literacy and help-seeking behaviour to inform the development of an educational mental health intervention for farmers. In the most recent Thematic Research Call, research proposals were sought on a range of themes including proposals focusing on farmer’s safety, health and wellbeing. The successful proposals will be announced shortly.
My Department supports the work of the HSA’s Farm Safety Partnership and was involved in the publication of the “Farmers’ Health and Wellbeing - A Guide to Staying Healthy While Farming” booklet, which includes a section on coping with stress and minding your mental health. The booklet was included in the 2023 BISS packs issued to over 122,000 farmers.
I want to reassure the Deputy that farm safety, health and wellbeing is a priority for me and my colleague, Minister of State Martin Heydon T.D, who has special responsibility in this area.
