Culture of safety is improving but too many lives are still being lost

FARMING continues to be the country’s highest risk occupation despite the popular belief of the outdoor life being healthy and stress free, a national safety conference was told last week.

Sadly, farming tops league by a distance as the most hazardous occupation in the country and critically the vast majority of farmers believe that an accident is not going to happen to them.

The National Conference on Farm Safety and Health held earlier this month at the Mullingar Park Hotel in Westmeath heard that on average over the past 10 years, the average fatality rate on Irish farms was 19 – so far this year, there have been 19 deaths.

Worryingly the accident figure also has to be taken in the context of the number of farmers who take their own lives each year as a result of stress, mental health issues and possibly the isolated nature of the job.

According to the Health and Safety Authority (HAS) statistics on workplace risk, farmers are a staggering eight times more likely to die in the workplace, than those in the general working population.

Galway farmer Peter Gohery – who lost a leg in a farm tractor PTO accident back in 2009 – told the conference about the lifelong consequences of the horrific injuries he suffered for both himself and his family.

Now involved in a consultative role on all aspects of farm and work safety, Peter Gohery (Eyrecourt) appealed to his fellow farmers to use the safety management systems that had been developed by the HSA and Teagasc.

A representative from Mental Health Ireland, Michael Noble, told the conference that farming can in fact be a most stressful occupation. “Sadly this stress often results in farmers taking their own lives when they feel unable to cope,” said Mr. Noble.

He also spoke about the importance of ‘building resilience’ and nurturing the ability to cope with all aspects of modern life.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.