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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon said funding for this important project which will promote farm safety awareness among second level students. “I am confident that Agri Aware’s Farm Safety First programme will make an important contribution to educating secondary school students about farm safety at an age when many of them are becoming more involved in farm work.”
Eight people under 18 years of age lost their lives on Irish farms over the past decade, all involving farm vehicles. While this is a significant reduction on the 74 fatal incidents involving people under 18 years of age in the 1980s, eight fatalities are eight too many. It is eight families devasted by the loss of a loved one, eight lives cut short in their prime. The Farm Safety First programme is one of a number of initiatives involved in educating young people about farm safety with a view to preventing or reducing the number of incidents on farms.
Minister of State for Forestry, Farm Safety and Horticulture, Niall Collins also welcomed the awarding of the tender. “The Farm Safety First programme will assist second level teachers in educating their students about the dangers associated with farming. I would encourage schools and teachers to embrace this initiative and the farm safety awareness training that this programme will deliver. We all have a role to play in promoting and demonstrating best practice when it comes to farm safety. It is only by promoting best practice and discouraging risk taking that everyone, including young people and children, will adopt a responsible approach to farm safety.”
Commenting on the awarding of funding for farm safety education in secondary schools, Agri Aware chair, Shay Galvin said: "Although a brilliant environment to work in, there are risks to one's safety while working on farm. Therefore, it is critical, particularly at a young age to instil good habits and make aware the dangers on farms, particularly around the use of machinery and care of livestock to the next generation. The Farm Safety First programme offers not only resources to teachers to use in the classroom but offers a practical element via in-person workshops and farm visits that will promote best practice while working on a farm and ultimately help to reduce the risk of accidents on farms in the future."