The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has begun a major safety campaign by asking teachers to spend 30 minutes of a school day passing on essential messages in an effort to reduce the number of accidents on farms this summer.
Seven people have been killed on farms to date this year, including one child. Toddler Ben Regan died from injuries he suffered after steel from a horsebox fell on him while he was feeding chickens on a farm at Derryleary in Mizen, west Cork, in late May.
Thirty people were killed in incidents on farms last year, five of them children.
Now, every school in the Republic of Ireland has received a letter and access to resources designed to educate youngsters on summer safety after 23 children died on farms in the last decade.
HSE chief executive Martin O'Halloran highlighted the role teachers can play in preventing a repeat of the number of accidents and deaths on farms in recent years. "We are calling on schools to join us in a national effort to prevent children from being seriously injured or dying in a farm accident this summer," he said. "I am asking every teacher to spend 30 minutes communicating key farm safety messages to children. Summer is a very busy time for farmers when much work needs to be done. Farmers need to be prepared for the presence of children during the holidays."
The HSA launched the appeal with a warning that farms remain the only workplace where children still continue to die, describing the loss of life as a horrific tragedy for families and heart-breaking for communities. It is estimated there are several hundreds of non-fatal accidents on farms every year but the vast majority of injuries and incidents are not reported to authorities.
The HSA warned of the biggest risks to children on farms in the summer period being tractors, machinery and other farm vehicles, travelling on farm vehicles and slurry pits, with children being allowed to play where farm work is taking place, near slurry pits or around slurry agitation and being unsupervised near animals being a major cause of accidents.
As part of the campaign teachers are being asked to use specially produced videos to explain to children the dangers of being around farms and animals.
The HSA letter to schools includes a link to slides with key farm safety messages for children on the HSA website. The ‘Farm Safety presentation’ can be found under Teacher Support and Resources section of the HSA website at http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Education/Teacher_Support_and_Resources/On_the_Far.... The slides contain links to further HSA farm safety resources on the website, which include a series of short Farm Safety videos involving children on their own farms and the Keep Safe on the Farm (40 minute on-line course suitable for the whiteboard) at the HSA’s e-learning portal: http://hsalearning.ie under the Primary Schools tab.
