28 Ean 2015, 14:40
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine will tomorrow meet with representatives from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) on proposals to cut back on the number of farm safety inspections despite the rise in farm fatalities.
28 January 2015
The HSA is the statutory authority with responsibility for ensuring that the country’s 1.8 million workers and those affected by work activity are protected from work related injury and ill-health.
Committee Chairman Andrew Doyle TD 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. With 30 fatalities, last year was the worst year for farm deaths since 1991 and the first month of 2015 has already seen a number of tragic deaths around the country. 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.
“With this worrying trend, Committee Members are deeply concerned at the HSA’s programme of work for 2015 proposing a reduction in farm inspection targets to 2,300 from 2,900 last year. Committee Members will wish to press the HSA representatives on the rationale for the change in approach. We look forward to a constructive engagement tomorrow, with the underlying goal exploring the optimum policies and practices required in reducing deaths and injuries on Irish farms.”
This meeting takes place at 10 am on Thursday 29 January in Committee Room 4, LH 2000.
Committee proceedings can be followed live here.
View Committee Membership.
Media enquiries to:
Paul Hand,
Communications Unit,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
E: paul.hand@oireachtas.ie