Farm Safety Live organisers, FRS Training, HSA and FBD Insurance are delighted to announce that the event, now in its 5th year, will be officially opened by Mairead McGuinness, MEP and First Vice President of the European Parliament, at the Tullamore Show on Sunday 12th of August at 11am.
The organisers want all to go home from the show smarter and with at least one farm safety tip to apply on their home farm. Each year the farm safety event brings something different and this year the focus is on giving smarter tips through the live and interactive demonstrations concentrated around the home farm that can be brought home and smartly implemented. The four areas this year will be on centred around Livestock Handling, Quad Bike Operation, Working From Heights, Tractor and PTO Operation.
Regrettably the overall fatality statistics have not been improving with the main culprits stemming from machinery, tractors, vehicles and livestock, with the young and elderly proving to be the main victims.
Mairead McGuinness MEP and First Vice President of the European Parliament said the number of accidents on farms resulting in deaths and serious injury in Ireland is unacceptably high and said, “Reports of farm accidents involving children, men and women are all too frequent. What lies behind each statistic is a farming family devastated and left to live with the aftermath on the very family farm where the accident took place. We have to do better and address in a holistic way this scourge of the countryside. I believe that initiatives to improve safety should be part of the next CAP. Farm accidents are not unique to Ireland – the issue is an EU wide problem and we need to learn what is working in other EU member states. We need to wake up to the reality that farms are places of work and like all workplaces with machinery (and additionally farming animals), safety routines and awareness and training are necessary. Farmers must put their health and well-being to the fore and stop and think when undertaking a task on the farm and ask what might go wrong, especially when working alone. I commend all associated with highlighting this critically important issue at the forthcoming Tullamore Show.”
Pat Griffin, Senior Inspector for Agriculture, HSA said, “The fatality and injury stats prove that there is a real problem with how safety is viewed on Irish farms. Safety and health on every farm needs to become integrated into every job and become just how we do things and not an add on or afterthought. There is much talk about smarter farming and we are calling on all farm families who come to the Tullamore show to go away smarter and with safety tips that they can apply at home to improve safety on their farm. Give Priority to 1. Advance Planning 2. Operator Training 3. Manage and Control Machinery & Animal Movement 4. Maintenance Programme & 5. Physical & Mental Health.”
Jim Dockery, Training Manager, FRS Training said, “We realise that farmers and in particular their young and older family members may not actually see the dangers as they go about working or helping out on their home farms each day. This is why each year I see people watching the demonstrations with great interest and see the penny dropping through their facial expressions. They are learning something new that they are not currently doing and we want each person to take at least one tip home and action it. We want each person to go away smarter and hence safer.”
Ciaran Roche, Risk Manager, FBD Insurance said, “Farmers everywhere can join with us to prevent accidents and hopefully save lives by attending events such as Farm Safety Live and by following our Farm Protect initiative. Changing our usual way of doing things can be challenging but because farming is a tough and demanding occupation with plenty of workplace hazards, it’s time to stop taking risks and prevent any unnecessary heartache.”
For more information and videos on the Farm Safety Live event and to win tickets to the Tullamore Show visit, like and share www.facebook.com/farmsafetylive
