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Farmers to receive farm safety message

There were 22 farm related deaths last year
There were 22 farm related deaths last year

Every farmer in the country is to get a warning about the dangers of farm accidents when they obtain application forms for their annual subsidies.

Around 130,000 farmers will receive a farm safety message with all single payment scheme application packs, which will be distributed by the Department of Agriculture later this month.

It is a joint initiative between the Health and Safety Authority, the Department of Agriculture, and the Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee.

Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said the initiative means farmers will each get an individual reminder of the importance of farming safely and the potentially fatal consequences.

Mr Coveney said it is individual farmers that hold the key to farming safely.

Farming remains the most dangerous occupation in Ireland.

There were 22 farm related deaths and 6,673 reported non-fatal injuries last year.

Safety issues around farm machinery, in particular tractors, as well as risks taken with livestock, remain the main causes of death and injury on farms.

Elderly farmers and young children remain the most high-risk groups and most accidents occur around the farmyard.