Safety body highlights roof and height risks for farmers and agri employees

LOOK up and think twice before embarking on any roof repair work on farm sheds – that’s the advice from the Health Safety Authority (HSA) as they embark on a two-week agriculture inspection campaign.

Their campaign – which began on Monday and continues to Friday, November 26 – will focus on the many risks posed when working at height.

According to the HSA, over the past 10 years (2011 to 2020) there have been 11 fatalities on Irish farms – all as a result of accidents when working at heights.

In 2020 alone, there were almost 2,000 work-related incidents across all work sectors, due to slips or falls, with one in five of those involving a height factor.

Galway IFA Rural Development Rep, Peter Gohery, has joined in the HSA call for a greater awareness among the farming community of the dangers posed when working at height.

“Many of the shed roofs pose a real hazard in terms of the sheeting being fragile and not being able to sustain the body weight of the person working on it.

“I know that every farmer is aware of costs but if they are doing work themselves, they should hire out a cherry-picker – it’s a very small price to pay compared to the life changing or even life ending consequence of a fall from a roof.

“I would also advise farmers who are getting in a contractor to do such jobs to check that these people are adequately insured. Any reputable contractor will have no problem showing their insurance paperwork and don’t be afraid to ask for it,” advised Peter Gohery.

He also said that there were ongoing concerns over the dangers posed by quads and while he welcomed the training requirement being put in place by the HSA, he added that it should involve the whole family.

“When there’s a quad on the farm, it will almost invariably mean that most family members will be using it and they should all should be suitably trained.

“I would also advise farmers to be very wary in terms of selling off any older quads, as if these machines are involved in an accident, the issue will arise as to who’s responsible in terms of insurance or liability,” said Peter Gohery.

The Eyrecourt farmer – himself an amputee following a farm accident – also pointed out that while the farm fatalities were all recorded, there were ‘many, many more accidents’ that occurred on farms leading to personal injuries.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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