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Farmers are being urged to call out and report safety issues on farms ahead of Farm Safety Week 2020.
The Speak Up for Farm Safety campaign is calling on the public to help reduce farm accidents and fatalities on Irish farms.
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA), Irish Farmers Association, Embrace FARM, AgriKids and An Garda Síochána have joined forces to call on everyone to help change the culture they believe is a contributory factor in the rate of fatal and serious injury on Irish farms.
The campaign is asking the public to speak up for farm safety if they witness or see unsafe behaviour that has potential to cause death or injury.
Those who are concerned are being urged to say it when they see it or if they would prefer, to pass their concerns to the HSA through their newly launched online complaints platform on www.hsa.ie/complaint
Dangerous
The initiative is a reaction to recent posts of dangerous behaviours on farms put up on social media and concerns expressed by the IFA, farm contractors and regulators such as the HSA and An Garda Síochána.
The recent TikTok videos have been something of a watershed moment for people and they seem less willing to turn a blind eye
Embrace FARM and AgriKids have also expressed similar concerns in relation to these unacceptable activities.
“We have had so much death and injury and so much grief in our farming communities, so it was heartening to see the public reaching out with their concerns,” Alma Jordan of AgriKids has said.
“The recent TikTok videos have been something of a watershed moment for people and they seem less willing to turn a blind eye,” she said.
Disservice
The HSA is fully behind this initiative, which asks, all in the farming community to speak up for farm safety, Pat Griffin, senior inspector at the HSA, has said.
“The dangerous behaviours posted by a small minority is not representative of the farming community and does a disservice to all involved in farming.
“Farming is now a difficult, complex, challenging and often a hazardous way to make a living. The last thing farming needs are these posts normalising dangerous practices,” he said.
Garda view
Sergeant Edel Burke from Kilrush Garda Station has also rowed in behind the campaign.
“I cannot tell you the devastation we face when arriving to the scene of a farm accident nor what those families are going through.
“By collaborating on this campaign not only can we, as a society, help to reduce the rate of farm accidents but we can also help to end the grief for our farming communities,” she said.
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