There has been a worrying increase in the number of workplace fatalities in one of the county’s biggest sectors - farming.
Speaking yesterday (Thursday ) at the National Conference on Farm Safety and Health, ICMSA president John Comer said that farming is increasingly becoming one of the most dangerous of all sectors.
Shockingly, 17 people have been killed at work on Irish farms since the start of the year.
“This is already one more than for the whole of last year and represents a tragically high rate of farm fatalities in 2014,” said Mr Comer.
He urged all farmers to keep their safety and that of their families at the forefront of their mind at all times.
The ICMSA president explained that the National Conference on Farm Safety and Health, which was held in the Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny, is extremely important in terms of raising awareness among farm families of the “inherent dangers in their everyday activities.”
The aim is to reduce the level of farm accidents.
Mr Comer said the conference also provided an opportunity to reflect on a year which, to-date, has seen a very worrying increase in farm fatalities.
