Farmers who are over the age of 70 are allowed to farm, but only if they can do so without coming into face-to-face contact with other people or without touching surfaces that other people may have infected.

On Friday, the Government announced new restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus. This included cocooning for those aged over 70 years of age, which means they are to stay at home for two weeks until 12 April.

Common sense

Liz Canavan from the Department of the Taoiseach said on Monday that generally speaking the Government wants everyone over 70 to stay at home and not leave. However, some common sense applies.

“If you are over 70 working in an essential area and you can do that remotely without coming into face-to-face contact with other people or without touching surfaces that other people may have sneezed on, then you can continue to work.

“This would also include the older farming community, but, again, they must be very careful about not coming into close contact with others.

“Older farmers should ring family members if they need help and if that’s not possible and the job is essential, please ring your local community support line. There will be one in each local authority or contact your local Garda station.”

The Government is to shortly make available a complete list of all local helpline numbers across the country.

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