Minister of State with responsibility for farm safety Michael Healy-Rae presented prizes to the national winners of the Agri Aware ‘Farm Safety First’ programme.

The ceremony took place on Friday 28 February at the Agri Aware farm walk and talk event in Salesian Agricultural College, Pallaskenry, Co Limerick.

The group winners of the programme, each receiving certificates and €600 prize money, from St Michael’s College in Listowel, Co Kerry, were Eoin Quilter, Gavin Joy and Eoghan O'Regan.

Minister Healy-Rae commended their innovative project around slurry handling by designing a motorised and magnetic slurry tank cover.

“Slurry is an important resource on our farms, but we must never forget that slurry is potentially lethal and its storage, handling and spreading are high-risk activities which have led to close calls, injuries and, unfortunately, fatalities.”

Farm safety

Participating students were tasked with creating a piece of content that reflected their learnings from the ‘Farm Safety First’ programme.

In its first year, 'Farm Safety First' saw over 6,300 students register to participate in the programme.

Furthermore, 35 farm safety workshops were held across the country, complemented by farm safety videos and other resources for students to engage with.

Commenting on the winners, Agri Aware chair Shay Galvin said that they took responsibility for their own safety and came up with innovative solutions to make farms a safer place for all.

"The students from St Michael's College applied the lessons from the programme in a creative and practical way to address a common danger on Irish farms.

“I congratulate the students of St Michael’s College and their teacher on winning the overall group prize and well done to all students who engaged in the programme across the country.”

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