National Conference on Safety in Agriculture to Take Place in Cork
Minister McEntee to make opening address
The high quality food that Ireland produces has led to extra demand and the expansion of the Agriculture sector. With the removal of dairy quotas in 2015 further growth can be expected. Consequently the level of activity on farms is increasing and the challenge is to ensure that this does not lead to increased death and injury due to accidents.
With this in mind, the theme of this years’ National Farm Safety Conference is ‘Securing safety in an expanding Agriculture sector’.
The conference, which is organised by the Health and Safety Authority, Teagasc and the Farm Safety Partnership will take place in the Oriel House Hotel, Ballincollig, Cork on Thursday 21st June (10am – 1.30pm). Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Shane McEntee T.D. will make the opening address.
One of the key contributions will be from John McNamara, Teagasc Health and Safety Officer who will present findings on a major national farm survey of farm injuries. The study has found significant increases in the rate and severity of non-fatal injuries on farms over the last number of years.
Pat Griffin, Senior Inspector with the Health and Safety Authority believes that failure to improve safety in Agriculture now will lead to even higher accident rates in the future, “We want everyone in the industry to work together to reverse these trends and achieve sustained year-on-year decreases. If we don’t tackle this now our belief is that in the future we will have an even higher accident rate.”
Admission to the conference is free, but booking should be made to Teagasc, Kildalton (051 644400). The conference is sponsored by FBD Trust. To view the full conference programme visit www.hsa.ie
