Teagasc Campaign on Farm Safety
10 April, 2003
While last year marked a welcome reduction in the number of farm fatalities the number of farm accidents remains at an alarmingly high level.
This was stated by Liam Aylward, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food, at the launch of a Teagasc poster campaign on farm safety.
This campaign is part of the Teagasc activities nationwide during National Farm Safety Week which commences on Monday 7th April.
Minister Aylward stated that the number of deaths due to farm accidents dropped from 24 in 2001 to 13 in 2002. However a recent Teagasc survey shows a persistent high level of farm accidents. In 2001, there was an average of 60 farm-related accidents per week, leading to significant injury and loss of income.
Teagasc Farm Safety Officer, John McNamara, said three out of every four farm fatalities last year were caused by farm machinery. While machinery accounted for 35% of all farm accidents in the mid 1990s, its contribution to total farm accidents in 2001 declined to 20%. Livestock are now the dominant cause of farm accidents, accounting for 35% of a total of 3,100 in 2001.
"An indication of the trauma caused by accidents is that over 10% of farmers suffer ill-health due to farming and in 30% of cases this ill-health is persistent," said John McNamara.
He again urged all farmers to prepare a safety statement as the first essential step to a concerted safety approach. The Teagasc survey shows that only 10% of farmers have a safety statement.
