Dairy farms are the most dangerous of any workplace, accounting for 58pc of all farm fatalities, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA)has said.

And the risks could increase with expansion in the sector over coming months as EU milk quotas are abolished.

People are eight times more likely to die on a farm than in any other workplace, and the more intensive the farm, the higher the risk, experts told a Dail agriculture committee.

Teagasc research shows that dairy farms account for 58pc of fatal accidents, despite only making up 17pc of all farms – meaning there are huge added dangers in coming months, said Pat Griffin, HSA senior agriculture inspector.

“That rings big alarm bells in my mind, given quotas are due to be abolished from April 1,” he said.

“We are facing quite a difficult situation to help these farmers protect themselves.”

The overall death rate in Irish workplaces has been slashed from 4.9 fatalities per 100,000 to 2 per 100,000 over the last 25 years,

However, in farming it remains much higher, with 19 deaths a year on average over the last decade – which works out as 16 per 100,000 farmers. 2014 was even worse, with 30 fatalities.

“Put simply, there is no significant reduction in fatality rates and you are eight times more likely to die working on a farm in Ireland than in the general working population,” said HSA chief executive Martin O’Halloran.

However, Ireland had made progress in its farm safety record compared to other European countries and was among the five countries with the lowest fatality rates.

Despite a 26pc cut in funding since 2008, the HSA has maintained 20pc of its available resources for agriculture, which represents 6pc of the workforce, he said.

Some 22 of its 103 safety inspectors are involved in agriculture, and six of these work full time in the area.

It will carry out 2,300 inspections this year, and also works with 50 discussion groups to reach more farmers, as well as on other safety awareness campaigns.

Some 2,757 farm inspections were carried out last year, with one in 10 resulting in enforcement action and 90pc receiving written or verbal advice.

Mr Griffin said the reason the HSA has now decided to prosecute farmers for carrying children under seven in tractor cabs was because they were vulnerable to injury, and touch-sensitive controls in modern tractors meant there was an added risk of them causing an accident. If children under seven became used to travelling in tractors, then there was a danger they would run out to them while a parent was driving one, placing themselves at risk of being crushed, he said.

Committee chairman Andrew Doyle said it shared HSA concerns that the risks were particularly acute in the dairy sector.

“There is little doubt that the increase in production is contributing to risks. This is a particular worry with the expansion in Irish agriculture envisaged in Food Harvest 2020 and the dairy sector in particular,” he said.

The committee said safety messages must be sharp and simple and welcomed moves to collaborate more with farmers.

Source: Irish Independent